Double O Demon
by Myriadragon
Summary: Kagome is a budding writer whose best friends are spies. But when it turns out that her latest novel is actually a true story of the Shikon no Tama and she is the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo, she is forced to go on the run with InuYasha. IK SM
1. World Famous Author

Wahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hola, people. This is my first FanFic so go easy on me, please?

**Disclaimer:** sniff well…sniff …no, I don't…don't own Inu-Yasha…sniff…you don't have to rub it in…

**Evil Thing O' The Day:** My history teacher. History project due the same day as that stupid biology thing…Where the hell am I going to find a flapper costume by Friday? Also my Drawing and Design teacher. Four days to do a still life watercolor? You have got to be kidding me. Grr…

Anyway, on with the insanity…

Double O Demon Chapter 1: World Famous Author 

Kagome Higurashi scanned the parking lot and sighed. Standing in the sun outside Borders she checked her watch for the fifteenth time in as many minutes. They were late.

This was unusual. The three of them—Sango, Miroku, and Inu-Yasha—were spies, and they almost always arrived early to check a place for traps, assassins, or anything else that might be out to harm them. But today they were late. She sighed again. Borders _was_ a big place—perhaps they were still inside checking it.

Kagome didn't mind their jobs—much. She supposed she should be worried about the danger she was placed in by being around the three best spies in the US (and arguably the world…there were a few Russian agents who were marginally better than them, but they were all retired, anyway), but she wasn't. Sango, Miroku, and Inu-Yasha were the best for a reason, and she trusted them with her life.

Her suspicions were confirmed as they walked out of the bookstore to join her on the sidewalk. "You're late," she said amiably, and then groaned. "Honestly, could you three be any more obvious?"

Sango, her long black hair pulled up in a high ponytail, was wearing army-green pants that looked as though they had indeed come from an army surplus store, She had on a deep pink tank top and comfortable black sandals, all sheathed by a long white trench coat.

Miroku was wearing black denim jeans and a black denim jacket over a royal blue shirt. His black hair, though considerably shorter than Sango's, was also pulled back in a ponytail.

And finally Inu-Yasha. He was wearing denim carpenter's pants, a red T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. Kagome grinned as she wondered how he managed to keep the roots of his hair—such an impossibly silver-white color that it had to be dyed—from showing. Her smile widened as she studied his eyes, another impossible color—amber. She was sure he wore contacts, but every time she asked he went pink and became strangely deaf until Sango or Miroku hurriedly changed the subject.

(A/N back to the plot if you still remember it…) True, it was spring, and Wisconsin weather was unpredictable, but they were dressed for forty-degree weather when it was closer to seventy out. She had left her sweater in the car, wearing only the pink, red, and orange dress her brother Sota had given her for her last birthday.

"You _guys_," she complained. "You look like you're going to Antarctica."

Sango rolled her eyes. "One, you're exaggerating. Two, as Miroku likes to say, the only way to be truly inconspicuous is to _be_ conspicuous. Three, you know how dangerous it is to be with us—do you really want us unarmed? Four, only someone who has spent a lot of time around spies would recognize our coats as the weapon-concealing garments they are. Oh and five, it is _freezing_ in there."

Kagome laughed, holding up her hands in submission. "All right, all right, I yield. Come on, bring your 'weapon-concealing garments' and let's go."

Smiling, they walked into Borders. Kagome led them to the shelves under a sign that read _Adult Fiction: Science Fiction/Fantasy_. She was practically skipping.

"Jeez, wench, calm down," grumbled Inu-Yasha. "It's just a book."

Kagome glared at him. "Yes, but it's _my_ book. My first book!" She grinned. "Even you have to admit that's really cool."

"Feh," said Inu-Yasha, because neither he nor the author could think of any thing else…

"What is it called, Kagome?" Miroku asked.

Still grinning, she replied, "Try and find it. The books are alphabetical by author, so it shouldn't be too hard."

Sango and Miroku began to comb the shelves, looking for the "H" section. Kagome and Inu-Yasha followed behind, the latter looking interested in spite of himself.

"Hmm…" said Sango, peering at the shelf. "Hezet, Hibiscus, Hidingway…Hill. No Higurashi."

"What?" said Kagome. "But they told me it would be here! Let me see," she demanded, staring at the shelf. She turned away with a sigh.

Inu-Yasha snickered. "So much for the world-famous author."

He fell silent when Miroku tugged his hair. "Shh."

"Don't worry, Kagome," Sango said, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "Miroku, is there a computer around here?"

"Right there," Miroku replied, pointing to the glowing blue screen.

"All right," said Sango. "Let's see…Search by author, Higurashi, Kagome." The keys clicked under her fingers as she typed. "Aha!"

"Higurashi, Kagome, _Demon's Goal_," Miroku read as Inu-Yasha raised his eyebrows. "It says here that it's in the nonfiction section."

"What? But it's a novel! A story! I made it up," Kagome said weakly.

"Well, let's check it out," Sango said. They headed for the nonfiction shelves.

"Here it is!" Inu-Yasha called. He turned it over and read the back.

_500 years ago in Feudal Japan there was created a jewel of terrifying power. This gem, the Jewel of Four Souls (also known as the Shikon Jewel or Shikon no Tama), was coveted by demons, for it could give them great power. It was given into the protection of the priestess Kikyo, and she guarded it well. But the demon Naraku wants it for himself and will stop at nothing to get it…_

It continued with several reviews by authors and magazines, but Inu-Yasha took no notice. _Shikon no Tama…priestess Kikyo…demon Naraku…_ "Damn," he said weakly.

"What? Inu-Yasha, what's the matter? You're all pale and shaking…would you like to sit down?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"No," he said, passing the book to Miroku with shaking hands. "Read this. We have to get her out of here."

"What? You guys, this isn't funny."

"It's not a joke, Kagome," Miroku said heavily. "This is going to be hard to believe, but…it's real. It's all real. The Shikon no Tama exists, and Naraku has been trying to get it for the last 500 years."

"But…I made it up. Besides, this doesn't take place _now_, my story happens in the Feudal Era of Japan."

"I know," Sango said. "I know it's hard to believe, but trust us. Kikyo died long ago, but she's been reincarnated in each generation…your family used to be in charge of a temple back in Japan, right?"

"Yes…"

"That explains it. _You_ must be the next incarnation of Kikyo. That's how you know all of this. But the problem is, now every demon who reads this book is going to know where to find the Shikon no Tama."

"That's why we have to get you out of here," Inu-Yasha said.

"But…It can't be. That makes no sense. Demons aren't real—"

"I wouldn't bet on that," said a voice behind her.

Kagome spun around. She found herself facing a man with silver hair, yellow eyes, pointed ears and a crescent moon tattooed on his forehead. She relaxed, but only slightly, as she recognized the stores manager, Inu-Yasha's cousin.

"Inu-Yasha," he said pleasantly. "So nice to see you taking an interest in literature."

"Sesshomaru," Inu-Yasha said coldly. "Did you tell him?"

"And why would I want to be telling _you_ that? Worthless half-breed," he added.

"Why you—hey!" Inu-Yasha complained as Miroku and (somewhat surprisingly) Kagome held him back.

"Stop it, Inu-Kun," Miroku whispered. "You have to concentrate on getting her out of here, and she'll never go with you if she knows you're a—"

"All right, I get it," Inu-Yasha growled.

"He's a demon?" Kagome said, amazingly calm. Inu-Yasha tensed, thinking she meant him, but relaxed when she nodded at the store manager.

Sesshomaru laughed. "Yes, _Kikyo_, I am a demon."

"Wha…I'm not Kikyo!" Kagome retorted. "It's Kagome. Ka-go-me."

"Not the time, Kagome," Inu-Yasha said. His voice was low, and something about it made her shiver. He sounded…dangerous. "Let's go."

"Okay…" She let him tow her out.

Behind her she heard Sesshomaru yell, "Don't let them leave!"

"Inu-Yasha…um…" Kagome said. He was still radiating cold energy (A/N can you radiate cold or is that only heat?).

"Sango and Miroku will handle it," he said shortly. He dragged her to his car and shoved her in. "Buckle your seatbelt," he growled, and started the car.

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

So what do you think? A little boring, ne? But not bad, considering it's my first.

I will try to update frequently but I have two projects due Friday (History and Biology) and an art assignment due Wednesday, and another due Friday and finals are looming (2 weeks!! Ahh!!). Plus, once Richard gets the _Cymbeline_ casting done I'm going to have memorizing. I hope I get Imogen!!

Oh yeah Borders is a bookstore chain in the US and Wisconsin is a state in the US (go find it on a map. Nobody ever knows about us…), just in case you _don't_ live in the US.

My brother wants Shippo to be one of the retired Russian spies…

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	2. Fight and Flight Into the Night

Lalala…I am a flapper and you may call me Jane Margaret…it's Saturday and I haven't died yet (the last month or so of school I tend to be really out of it so I keep running into things like walls and tables and lamps and coat hooks and…)

**Disclaimer: **sniff sniff…WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Evil Thing O' The Day:** the computer is too slow, my family is invading my privacy, and I need my own computer

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 2: Fight and Flight Into the Night_

"Um…Inu-Yasha?" Kagome said timidly as they drove north.

"What?" he snapped.

"Never mind," she said quickly, raising her eyebrows and giving him a Look.

Inu-Yasha growled and then sighed. "Sorry. I'm a little tense. What is it?"

"Well…Where are we going?"

"The Ranch. It's a hideaway up north that Miroku built."

"Built?"

"Amazingly, yes. Hopefully we'll be able to ward it enough that they can't find you."

Kagome sighed. "This is really real. It still seems like it should be a joke…Demons! Who'd have thought?"

_Not you,_ thought Inu-Yasha, _and not me. But I _should_ have. I should have seen this coming. Her sudden interest in—_

"Demons," she said again, and shivered. "If they're anything like the ones in my book…I'm scared. I always thought it was strange that I didn't like your cousin. Now I know why. Are they all so…unpleasant?"

Inu-Yasha clenched his teeth to keep from loosing his temper. _She doesn't know, she doesn't mean it. She doesn't know, she doesn't mean it. She doesn't know, she doesn't mean it…_ "Most," he said shortly. "I need to concentrate on driving."

"Okay," she said, and said no more.

Inside his head, Inu-Yasha let out an impressive string of curses. _…Damn it! I'm supposed to protect this wench and I'm already getting mad. It's not even her _fault_! I should tell her…But I can't, she'd never trust me._ He sighed. _This is going to be a hell of a time._

'' '' '' '' ''

Sango spun into a fighting stance, pulling a pair of boomerangs from her inner coat pockets as she called, "You ready, monk?"

"I'm not a monk," Miroku gritted, pulling a small rod from his pocket. His opponent grinned until he pressed a button and the rod expanded from six inches to six feet long. The demon leapt at him in a flash of claws. Miroku shifted his weight, took careful aim, and dispensed the demon with a well-placed blow to the neck. "Just because my uncle's a monk doesn't make _me_ one." (A/N haha Miroku's a monkey's uncle…er…his uncle is a monk…oh I give up…)

Sango didn't reply. She had other problems. The twin boomerangs spun from her hands, hitting the demon on either temple before returning to her. _Two down, six plus Sesshomaru to go_, she thought grimly.

She spun on the balls of her feet, one foot lashing out to meet her new opponent's face. He reeled, but stayed on his feet. She cursed as he unsheathed his claws; they were nearly a foot long. He swung at her but she ducked and ran past him, then leapt onto the top of the nearest bookshelf.

She nearly lost her balance on her kitten-heel sandals. With a growl she kicked them off and concussed her demon with another kick to the back of the head.

Another demon with a long, viciously spiked tail jumped down from the second level to the row of bookshelves. The impact of his landing set the shelves rocking and books raining down on Miroku.

He had fought his way down to her end of the aisle, killing the other two demons on his way. Seeing Sango's plight, he made to jump up to her shelf, but was stopped by Sesshomaru.

"Ready to dance, monk?" he sneered.

"Born," Miroku shot back. He cast a worried glance at Sango, but she had regained her balance and was whistling for Kirara. She seemed to have things under control, so he turned his attention back to Sesshomaru.

'' '' '' '' ''

In an apartment a mile away in downtown Madison, a two-tailed yellow kitten pricked her ears. Her mistress was calling. She leapt off the couch and padded to the open window. There was a flash of orange flame and she grew to be larger than a horse. With that same pumpkin-hued gas blazing at her paws Kirara ran off through the sky to Borders.

'' '' '' '' ''

Two hours later, in a silver convertible winding its way to a house hidden in the woods of Northern Wisconsin, Kagome shivered. Not wanting to anger the obviously tense Inu-Yasha, she said nothing. She captured her hair into a ponytail over her neck and ears in hopes of keeping them warm, but dressed as she was in a thin, sleeveless sundress, there was little she could do. She shivered again.

This time Inu-Yasha noticed. He growled. Did women ever dress warmly enough?

"Hey. Wench."

"What?" her voice was timid, but wary.

"Can you drive?"

"Of course."

"Take over for a minute," he ordered. Kagome gave him a confused look, but complied, leaning across him to grasp the wheel.

Inu-Yasha undid the top button of his jacket and unzipped it. He shrugged out of it and ran a hand over the pockets, checking for anything he might have left there and forgotten. When he found nothing he deposited the jacket on Kagome's shoulders and took the wheel again. As a hanyou, he didn't need the jacket to keep warm in the chilly spring night, but she did.

Kagome gave him a smile of thinks and slipped her arms into the sleeves. She curled her body up inside the jacket, and, laying her head on Inu-Yasha's shoulder, she went to sleep.

'' '' '' '' ''

Sango's eyes narrowed as she sized up her opponent. This was going to be tricky. By now they had both regained their respective balances, so he could attack her with his tail and stay just far enough away to avoid kicks and punches, but just close enough to make her boomerangs ineffective.

He jabbed at her with his tail and she darted past him. He overbalanced enough that, with the help of her foot in his back, he fell of the bookcase between Miroku and Sesshomaru.

The demon didn't stay disoriented for long, slashing at Miroku almost before he hit the ground. With a reptilian snarl he leapt at Miroku, who was hard pressed to keep him off. Finally, after sustaining a shallow gash along his cheekbone and two leg wounds, the "monk" finished him off.

Miroku turned to look for Sesshomaru—only to find Sango spinning off the bookcase and into him.

While Miroku was fighting the tailed demon Sesshomaru had jumped up to take his place fighting Sango. She lunged at him but he dodged, leaping over the aisle to face her atop another row of bookshelves.

Her boomerangs would be of no use. With a frown she jammed them into her pockets, with the ends sticking out like guns in a cowboy's holster.

She yanked a smaller boomerang from a different pocket and threw it at him. It was different, heavier—made of metal with sharp edges, it was designed to hurt. But it was also very difficult to throw.

Sango grimaced as it flew past Sesshomaru. True, it sliced his shoulder as it went, but the wound was shallow and already beginning to heal. On top of that, it had been a bad throw, and instead of returning to her hand it lost momentum and embedded itself in the floor.

Which left her with nothing but two useless boomerangs and her wits against a demon even Inu-Yasha couldn't beat.

They began to circle each other, leaping back and forth over Miroku's head. Sesshomaru jumped away, hopping across the room. Sango followed. She knew he was toying with her. He led her in a merry dance from shelf to shelf, sending books like oversized raindrops cascading down into the by now vacant aisles.

Twenty-odd jumps later Sango panted, glad Sesshomaru had stopped. Her legs were burning from the leaps she'd made already, and she was sure if he made another jump she wouldn't be able to follow.

Fortunately, he seemed content to stay where he was. He had control of his row of bookshelves, with and empty aisle and then Sango's row, and finally Miroku's aisle in front of him.

Sesshomaru grinned evilly. Raising his arms above his head in a dramatic (and most likely unnecessary) gesture he sent a bolt of power straight at Sango. She tumbled off the bookcase straight into Miroku, who caught her with an arm around her waist and a hand to her rear.

"Hello, Sango," he said, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Need any help?"

Sango found herself going pink and pushed him away slightly harder than she meant to. "Get over yourself, monk."

"I'm not a–Oh, never _mind_," he said. He glanced at his staff. Small wonder they called him monk—it had been modeled after his uncle's. The rings at the end clinked in his shaking hands.

Sango made to leap to the shelves again, but he caught her wrist and pulled her down. He shook his head and she nodded grimly, understanding. Neither of them had enough energy left to play leapfrog with the demon. But what were they going to do? There was no way they could beat him.

They were saved a potentially fatal battle as the doors opened with a _whoosh_ and Kirara bounded in in lioness form. She hurtled past them. As she passed Sango leapt on her back, pulling Miroku with her. He almost overbalanced but threw an arm around her waist, staying on.

"You can let go now," Sango said once they were safely away. She tried to sound grumpy but failed.

"But I'm so comfortable," he said reasonably. He put his other arm around her so he had her in a back-to-front hug. "We need to talk to K," he added, resting his chin on her shoulder.

She shrugged, trying half-heartedly to remove his chin. It didn't work. Miroku was always like this with her, especially when he was weary. He seemed to need the physical contact, and she was usually willing to give it. His knee was resting by her hip. She rubbed it reassuringly and was startled when her hand came away red.

"You're bleeding."

"Wha…?" he said sleepily. "Oh. Yeah."

Sango patted the pockets of her trench coat with her clean hand. She found a roll of gauze and pulled it out. "Straighten your leg," she commanded.

He did, and she turned to examine his knee. Two long (but thankfully shallow) cuts ran from knee to mid-thigh. Working through the slashes in his jeans Sango erected a makeshift bandage. "It isn't great, but it'll do until we get to Chicago."

"Do you have any Band-Aids?"

"Um…here," she said, fishing a small box out of her pocket.

"Thanks." He unwrapped two Band-Aids and stuck them over the gash on his cheek. He slipped his arms around her waist again and kissed her temple.

"Stop that before I have you arrested," Sango said grumpily.

Miroku laughed and pulled her against him. "Go to sleep."

And she did.

'' '' '' '' ''

Close to one o'clock AM, after more than six hours of zigzagging around Wisconsin, Inu-Yasha pulled up in front of a comfortable house in the forest. He turned off the engine and sighed.

Kagome was still asleep on his shoulder and Inu-Yasha didn't want to wake her. So he carefully undid her seatbelt and opened the car door. He gathered her in his arms and carried her into the house. He put her into the bed and went to lock the door.

Inu-Yasha sighed again. He was tired as well, but he couldn't sleep until he'd warded the house, and he couldn't do that without Kagome's help. He'd let her sleep, of course, but how to stay awake…

He fed a little bit of power into the bracelet on his right wrist, unlocking the size spell K had put on the little sword charm. It grew to be the full-sized Tetsusaiga, his father's sword. He fished in the refrigerator for some fruit and set it on the kitchen table. Inu-Yasha was good with a sword, had lots of power—but was somewhat lacking when it came to precision. Now was as good a time as any to practice.

'' '' '' '' ''

Miroku slid his arm under Sango's knees and dismounted, carrying her with him. He'd taken a nap on the way to Chicago but woke up as soon as Kirara touched down on Navy Pier. Sango was still asleep.

Kirara _poof_ed back to her kitten form and trotted into the nearest building. Miroku followed, moving considerably slower due to his injured leg and Sango's weight. By the time he reached the building a woman in her late 50s was waiting for him.

"K," he said.

"Monk," she replied. "I don't believe I've ever seen Agent Sango look so innocent."

He smiled fondly, looking down at her sleeping face. "Yeah. We need to talk," he said more seriously.

"Yes. But not now. Ye need your rest. Take her downstairs and get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

Whee!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very happy with this chapter. But nobody reviewed last time except for me!! Please oh please oh please review!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!! Comments, criticisms, mistakes, ideas, thoughts, threats, praise, random insane ramblings, ANYTHING I don't really care I just want some feedback!!!!!

Oh yeah Madison is the capital of Wisconsin and Chicago is a large city in Illinois off of Lake Michigan (that's where Navy Pier is) for those of you who are geographically challenged.


	3. Excerpts

We went to see _Van Helsing_ last night. I read some reviews that said it was bad, but I liked it. You can't entirely take it seriously, but it's fun. And I absolutely love Anna's clothes. The ending part (if you've seen it you'll know what I mean, if not then go see it!) was kinda weird because of the way the whole grieving thing was done; half of me was thinking "That's heartbreakingly sad!" and half of me was thinking "That's heartbreakingly corny!". Oh well…it's a lot of fun; you should all go see it. And I love the monk—er, friar—partly because he used to play Diver Dan on _Sea Change_ and partly because he is Faramir from LotR.

The review I read said that the transformations would give me nightmares, but I didn't get any. I did have a really weird dream though, where I was running around a place that was a cross between my grandmother's house and a science lab with my friend Camille and some girl I swear I've never met before and then I was trying to send my belongings out to sea so I could go on a quest and then Diana Digarmo and Simon Cowell were dating.

Not that any of you care.

**Disclaimer:** sniff…no…sniff …I d-don't…hic own Inu-Y-y-yasha…blows nose

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **my brother. He has to make twenty shields by Thursday but will not get a move on! Oh and my stupid English project. It is HARD. I don't suppose any of you have advice on how to write a poem explaining the beliefs of Boo Radley, Aunt Alexandra, Calpurnia, Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, or Mr. Dolphus Raymond?

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter Three: Excerpts_

Sango rose out of sleep but didn't open her eyes. She should get up, she knew that, but it was so comfortable lying in the warm bed, the weight of an arm pleasant on her waist.

The weight…of an arm? Sango opened her eyes and sat up with a yelp.

_What the _hell_ does he think he's doing?_ she thought as she moved his arm off of her lap. _Miroku, you baka, what're you trying to do, kill me?_

Sango rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand, turning to look at him. His hair had come undone, falling out of its rattail and over his face. She brushed it back behind his ears. Someone had rebandaged his cheek, and she knew if she checked his knee it would also have been seen to.

_He looks different when he's asleep_, she thought. _I'm used to the innocent, carefree front he puts on. But now…I can see that he has troubles, cares, worries, sorrows…but he's still so peaceful._ She ran her fingers along the line of his jaw, fighting the urge to lie down again and curl up with him.

"Agent Sango?"

Sango yelped again and jumped. "K! Don't _do_ that."

"I heard ye yell before. Is everything all right?"

"Oh! Yes. I was just a little surprised," she said blandly. _Just a little surprised…yeah right, he nearly gave me a heart attack!_

K smiled knowingly. "Of course. Go take a shower and let me deal with him. I want the two of ye to look at something."

'' '' '' '' ''

"…And so the Shikon no Tama, born of a corrupted heart and filled with both human and demonic power, was given into the care of the priestess Kikyo.

"Kikyo guarded it well. Though many demons attacked her in hopes of gaining the Jewel, she fought them off with her mystical powers and superior skill with a bow. She took the jewel back to her village so that she could erect more permanent wards."

Sango came to the end of the passage and took a drink of the orange juice that was all that remained of her breakfast. K sat across from her and Miroku next to her, she with a cup of herbal tea, he nursing a mug of coffee.

She turned to the next passage K had marked and began to read again.

"'Were there any survivors?' Kikyo called, rushing to the still-smoldering house.

"'But one, Lady Kikyo,' Tsuki replied. 'Onigumo'

"'Let me see him,' Kikyo commanded. She gasped as she saw the charred wretch that was Onigumo. 'Poor man. Take him to the cave nearby. I will care for him.'

"And so Onigumo was placed in the care of the priestess Kikyo. She did the very best she could for him, but he was a bitter man and often cruel to her.

"For months Kikyo took care of Onigumo, healing his burns to the best of her ability. He began to lust after her, desire her, but she refused his advances. This only fueled his bitterness. He grew bitterer every day until he was no longer bitter; he was evil.

"With his heart tainted thus, Onigumo became the perfect vessel for demons. Thousands and thousands of them, all lesser demons, came to Onigumo and tricked him into letting them take over his body. He became the demon Naraku."

Sango turned to the last page and began to read again.

"Naraku was defeated, and Kikyo returned to her village.

"She may have won the battle, but not decisively. Naraku was not dead, only delayed in his quest for the Shikon no Tama. Kikyo had sustained so many wounds that she was near dying.

"So Kikyo made the hardest decision of her life. She refused all medical attention and let herself bleed to death. Before she died, she told the villagers to burn the Jewel with her body. Naraku would never have it."

Sango closed the book and reached for a pile of papers. "What is this?"

"We found it in her house. It be plans for a sequel to her book."

"You searched her house?" Sango said in disbelief.

"Last night. As soon as we heard about the book we searched her house for anything else. And it be a good thing we did."

Sango raised her eyebrows and began to read.

"_Demon's Dream_ by Kagome Higurashi. A sequel to _Demon's Goal._

"Prewriting:

"Kagome—Human. The reincarnation of Kikyo who has been transported to the past from the present day.

"Sango—Human. A demon exterminator whose family was killed by Naraku.

"Miroku—Human. A Buddhist monk with a cursed hand. Is eager to produce an heir to fight Naraku."

Miroku made a noise of indignation. Sango bit back a grin and continued.

"Kaede—Human. Kikyo's younger sister (now in her 50s)

"Naraku—Demon. The antagonist. Bears a spider-shaped scar on his back.

"Sesshomaru—Demon. Inu-Yasha's cousin.

"Kouga—Demon. Considers Kagome 'his woman'

"Inu-Yasha—?"

Sango stopped reading and rubbed her throat. It was sore and her mouth was dry. Miroku poured her more orange juice and patted her hand. She jumped a little but smiled at him.

"Wow," he said.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"It would seem she was thinking of writing another book with all of us in it."

"Yeah," Sango said again. "She got everything right, too; Sesshomaru and Kouga as demons, her as the reincarnation of Kikyo, even you and me and K…and Inu-Yasha. Look. She couldn't decide whether or not to make him human or demon."

"Part of her knows," Miroku said. "She's a writer, she's observant, and she has the memories of every Kikyo. She knows he's a hanyou."

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Wahaha semi-cliffie. I'm not crazy about this chapter but oh well, it's important to the plot.

I officially hate you all; I STILL have no reviews. Please oh please review. Is anyone even out there reading this? HELLO!

Ello…lo…lo…o…o

Why do I get the feeling I'm shouting into a big empty room? I know that someone has to read this because my account tells me people have me on their author alert list and on their favorites list, so why don't you guys review? I'm starting to panic!!!!!

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVEIW

Oh and nobody's caught the Sesshomaru thing I expect feedback on that or I will stop writing and then where will you all be?

The lack of feedback has me in a BAD MOOD.

--Myriadragon


	4. Not Exactly Judy Dench

I wrote this while Dad and Ooie were cutting wood and then in front of _Tomorrow Never Dies_ (weeheehee Double O Seven!)and the noise was very distracting so forgive me if this sucks (I don't think it's that bad, but maybe you disagree). Also while I type this I have music blaring because they're at it again and saws are NOISY.

A random conversation between Will aka Miroku and Myriadragon

W: myow!

M: (looks out window) squiggles! You wanna eat a squiggle, fuzzbutt?

W: (gives a Look)

M: Will says YEAH I wanna eat a squiggle where have you been

squiggle=squirrel

**Disclaimer: **sniff…dials therapist…ring…ring…hello?…sniff…I don't own Inu-Yasha…sniff…let's make you an appointment right away…sniff…ok…

**Evil Thing O' The Day:** uhh…

**REGARDING MY NEXT STORY: **on my bio page I have a bunch of ideas for my next fic (I will probably do most of them eventually). If you have an opinion or idea regarding one of them, post a review. Towards the end of DOD I will probably hold a vote.

**Magical Meg—**don't worry, I'll try to post every other day, but I can't promise anything (finals, projects, etc.)

Vilja—glad you like it!

Sakura Takashi—yup, it's InuKag and SanMir (mostly InuKag although it doesn't seem like it right now, don't worry, we'll be getting back to them!)

Kloey—I dunno when this will be done. Probably sometime in mid-June, I'll email you then

Nope—thou art officially evil. I don't know if concussed is a word; I considered putting in an A/N but decided not to. The slap wouldn't have fit in with the story at that point. But in this chapter, on the other hand...

Kitty—you should post it! I will read it faithfully even if no one else does (although I'm sure other people will)

Doc—see notes for Nope. Diana Digarmo came in second place on American Idol

**Finally someone caught the whole Sesshomaru thing!! Happy happy happy!! All will be revealed later…mwahaha…**

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 4: Not Exactly Judy Dench_

"She knows he's a hanyou."

This deeply profound (yeah right) statement was met with silence. Sango took a drink of her orange juice and said:

"I think you're wrong."

Miroku gave her a look of mock injury. "Thanks for the support," he drawled.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, don't be like that. You're not completely wrong. _Yes_, part of Kagome knows he's a hanyou. But only the part of her that is Kikyo. And Kikyo only meets Kagome when she's dreaming."

K looked startled. "How did ye know that?"

"Kagome told me her book was mostly written from dreams she'd had."

"Ah. Yes, I believe it be safe to say Kagome herself has no knowledge of Inu-Yasha's…species. She would have refused to go with him had the case been otherwise.

"But now there be the problem of the fact that he be hanyou. Needless to say, it is not a desirable arrangement to have her with him and not the two of ye."

"K, you don't honestly think he would—" Miroku started, but K cut him off.

"No, no, ye mistake my meaning, monk," she said hastily. "I know Inu-Yasha well enough to know he wouldn't harm her. Though he may have once coveted the Jewel, it be clear to me he desires it no longer.

"What I am worried about is what will happen when she finds out. Inu-Yasha cannot hide his secret from her forever."

"Kagome is sensible," Miroku argued. "She knows Inu-Kun well enough to know he'd never hurt her."

"Does she?" Sango asked sadly. "I'm not so sure."

"Boy, you are just not on my side today, are you?" Miroku grumbled.

Sango smiled a little and tugged his ear affectionately before elaborating. "Stop complaining and let me explain," she commanded.

"Kagome only knows Inu-Yasha because of us. She and I are very close, and she knows you well, but Inu-Yasha…he's what you'd consider a friend of a friend. She knows him loosely, but not well enough to completely trust him.

"And there's more to it than that. Inu-Yasha doesn't know _her_. He knows us well because we work together, but not her. You know what he's like—and what she's like. They'll probably be at each other's throats before long. _And_," Sango said, finally reaching the end of her tirade, "I think she likes him."

"But you just said she didn—oh," Miroku said, as realization dawned (why does it always _dawn_? Couldn't it _set_ instead?…never mind…). "You mean _that_ way. How can you tell?"

Sango rolled her eyes. "Men are so dense," she said, laughing as Miroku protested and Kaede nodded her head in solemn agreement. "It's obvious by the way she looks at him. The fact that she _doesn't_ know him makes Inu-Yasha interesting."

Miroku blinked. "Dense man still in the dark."

She laughed again. "Okay, clueless I'll spell it out for you. Honestly, have you no idea what goes on between men and—" Sango was cut off as he kissed her lightly.

"Sure I do," Miroku said, grinning wickedly. Sango proceeded to blush and pour the remainder of her orange juice over his head.

"Come on, ye two, there'll be time enough for flirting later," K said impatiently, her one eye sparkling with amusement. Sango and Miroku began to protest (although not so much Miroku…hee hee hee…). She waved it away and told Sango to continue.

"Er…anyway," Sango said, still pink. "Oh, come on, it's not that hard. When you first meet someone of the opposite sex" (A/N or the same sex if you're gay) "it's natural to toy with the idea of loving them. Everybody does it, sometimes even with people they know very well. It's normal. Hormones and all of that."

"I see. Then did you ever toy with the idea of me?" He _sounded_ like he was joking, but still…

"That," Sango said coolly, "is irrelevant. So where do we go from here, K?"

K shifted in her chair, not failing to notice Sango's embarrassment and Miroku's faintly disappointed look. "Well, I'll be telling my superiors about this, of course. I assume Inu-Yasha has taken her to the Ranch?" When Miroku nodded, she continued. "We'll have to contact him, then. We can't hide her up there for the rest of her life; she's far too free-willed to put of with that. Maybe he could train her to defend herself…" she trailed off, contemplating the possibilities in the bottom of her teacup.

Miroku leaned over whispered something in Sango's ear. She turned a violent shade of pink, causing K to look up from her tea.

"Oy, monk, I told you to stop flirting," she said gruffly.

Miroku grinned impudently but went pink as well. Sango gave K a look that was half grateful and half annoyed.

K sighed and shook her head, suppressing a grin. _When are those two going to get it together?_ she wondered, losing the battle with her cheek muscles. She took a sip from her by now cold tea, hiding her face until she got it under control.

"Well, back to business. Inu-Yasha and Kagome may be able to ward the Ranch, but eventually Naraku will find them there. I'll tell Inu-Yasha to start training her—hopefully she will be as strong as other Kikyos and be able to defend herself with her powers. As soon as Kagome takes over her defense, I think we should go after Naraku."

Sango's eyebrows flew up. "Do you really think we stand a chance?"

"I think we don't have a choice. Our organization has been protecting Kikyo and the Shikon no Tama for the last 500 years. But demons and suchlike be getting rarer and rarer. Soon the government will take away our funding, and if Naraku isn't stopped by then the whole world could be in danger."

They nodded grimly. "You're right," Miroku said. "We've been dancing around this for long enough. It's time for the final confrontation."

"If Inu-Yasha can train Kagome to use her full powers, we just might have a chance," Sango said thoughtfully. "All right. We have a lot of work to do if we're going to be ready. Where do you want us to start?"

K smiled, grateful for there support. "It will only be the four of you—I'm much too old, and the rest of our small organization is busy elsewhere. I will go and contact the head of the CIA. The two of ye should start planning." She left for her office.

"So we're really going to do this," Miroku said heavily, snaking an arm around Sango's waist. She stiffened but let it slide. The thought of what they were going to do had her scared as well.

"We'll definitely need some kind of armor," She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe something like my family wears?"

"Mm. Yew, demon exterminator armor is good. Light and flexible, but strong. We should make more weapons, though." He tilted his head to rest on hers.

"Then can we make a large boomerang? I'm better with that anyway."

Miroku laughed. "You and your ungodly boomerang. Just don't aim it at me."

"Keep your hands where they belong next time and I won't," she retorted.

"What, you mean like this?" he said innocently, sliding his hands downward.

Sango jumped and aimed a slap at his face, but Miroku caught her wrist.

"Now, now, Sango that's not very nice," he said, grinning.

She sagged, seemingly defeated. But Miroku had forgotten something—her other hand.

SMACK

"Gotcha!" Sango said happily as a red handprint appeared on his cheek.

"That's not very nice," Miroku replied, still grinning.

"Eep!" said Sango as he pulled her out of her chair and into his lap, squishing her against his chest.

"My my, doesn't this look like fun," said K. Sango turned red and Miroku pink as she stood in the doorway laughing.

"Let go of me, hentai," Sango growled, and he released her, albeit reluctantly.

"So?" Sango said after hopping out of Miroku's lap. She walked over to stand by K, self-consciously straightening her clothes and hair.

"Kagome answered it; apparently Inu-Yasha is asleep. I told her to let him rest and not to go outside, and that I'd contact him later."

"And the Director of Intelligence?" Miroku asked, coming to join the two women in the doorway.

"I was informed that 'Mr. Tenant is unavailable," K said, imitating a clueless young secretary. She made a face. "So we be on our own for now. And the two of ye?"

Sango went pink again and Miroku laughed a little nervously. "Um…Demon exterminator armor and a really big boomerang."

"How productive," K said dryly. "Let's get back to work." She moved to sit at the table.

"What about the Director of Intelligence?" Sango asked, joining her.

"I'll try him again later. I don't trust the two of ye alone together."

Sango seemed to have blushed herself out for the day; she only rolled her eyes at her superior. "You may be an old woman," she replied, "But you're not exactly Judy Dench."

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Yay! Happy happy happy I have reviews!!!! 8 of them (well one is me so that doesn't really count, lets call it 7)

Please keep reviewing!!!! Next chapter we get back to Inu-Yasha and Kagome.

--Myriadragon


	5. Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Author dodges produce from angry readers I'm sorry!!!! Really I am!!!! Is hit with rotten banana Please let me explain!

OK, I know it's been forever since I updated. But this is why:

Tues 6/1—school, homework, had to help Ooie with his proj

Wed 6/2—see above, plus Japanese Club

Thurs 6/3—school, preparation for fetal pig practical, discovering the odd world of HP Lily/James fics (also my BFF's Bday)

Fri 6/4—BFF came over, went to see HP3 (about that. I liked it, HOWEVER, they didn't explain anything! DO NOT go see it if you haven't read the book!)

Sat 6/5—well…I was being lazy. I read two great HP fics (Deer to Me and Heading the School, which you are all required to read), plus the end of _A Ring of Endless Light_, _Shattered Mirror_, and started _The Dream Spheres_ just for good measure J

Sun 6/6—studying for Bio and Eng finals

Mon 6/7—school, studying for His and Bio finals

Tues 6/8—Bio, Eng, His finals, studying for Spn final, working on proj for Art (but I did finish writing this)

Wed 6/9—Spn, Art finals, studying for Hlth and typing this up

Readers throw rest of fruit for good measure but grudgingly forgive author

I really am sorry. But then again, half of you had finals too, so we're all in the same boat. And I _did_ post a message on my bio page but I'm guessing no one read that…

Oh yeah, what is AU (A/U)? And a beta (on _Who Wants To Be a Millionaire_ they said it was untested technology, is that close)? I'm still kinda a newbie, so I need definitions!!!

WAHAHA I GOT POSTHUMUS!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!!!!!! (remember back in Ch. 1 I said I wanted to be Imogen from _Cymbeline_? Well, I'm not her, but I AM the second biggest role in the play, thankyewverymuch.)

Do not eat the radioactive cellery.

**Disclaimer:** (at therapist's office) Okay, what is troubling you? …sniff…I don't own Inu-Yasha… Well, that's a pretty common problem, let me write you a prescription. …ok…sniff…if you think it will help…

**Evil Thing O' The Day:** I dunno…

**SvF-BD02-Wedge**—hmm, you're right, but I DO have a twist planned for later. Thanks for the note about radiating cold…

Hehehohohuhucaugh—yes, it is a weird name. And does it matter if you're officially evil or only unofficially? I still have to live with you…and no, dummy, K isn't really in the bottom of her teacup. Higho.

Grumpy—Higho to you to. What is your account name, I can't find you! Oh, yeah, about it being in Wisconsin…well, they say 'write what you know'…And you can have Archie for most of the summer, but Doc and I may need to borrow him from time to time. And we could send him to pester Bashfull…oh, the possibilities…J

On with the insanity…

Double O Demon Chapter 5: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch 

Kagome woke to a _thud_ and some extremely colorful language coming from Inu-Yasha. She sat up groggily and got out of bed, following the string of curses like a lifeline until she found the kitchen, and with it Inu-Yasha.

He was hopping up and down on one foot with his thumb in his mouth, growling softly. Kagome took a step back, startled and maybe a little scared, then asked, "What did you do?"

"Hn?" was Inu-Yasha's intelligent reply. He removed his thumb from his mouth a little guiltily. "Uh…nothing. Go back to sleep."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. By now she was fully awake, and she could tell he was lying. She scanned the room, taking in the sword, mutilated apples, and the bags under Inu-Yasha's eyes. "Have you been awake all this time?" she asked. "You cut yourself, didn't you."

"Wha—no!" he said hastily, but it was too late. She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her.

"That's funny," she said. There _was_ a cut on his thumb, but it was little more than a pinkish scar, as though it had been healed for years. She blinked, and even that was gone. _I must be imagining things._

She looked up at him. He was blushing—then again, they were very close together. She noticed just how dark the rings around his eyes were. "Did you get any sleep last night?" she asked, concerned.

Without knowing why, Inu-Yasha got even redder. "No," he said sheepishly.

"Baka," she replied. Pulling his hand, she led him to the bathroom.

"I—wha—but—" Inu-Yasha spluttered.

"Shush. You're going to take a shower and then go to sleep.

"But…I need to ward…" he protested feebly.

Kagome glared at him. "Come on. Get in the shower." He just stared blankly at her.

"Oh, _honestly_," she said, pulling his shirt over his head. She reached for his belt, but he growled and turned away.

"I can undress myself," Inu-Yasha grumbled.

"Then do it. I'm going to find you some pajamas. When I get back you'd better be in the shower—and use soap. If you can't wash yourself, I'll do it for you."

"There should be a law against that," he muttered.

"I know what boys look like," she retorted. "Now get in the shower." She left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

_That woman is insane_, Inu-Yasha thought miserably as he got into the shower.

'' '' '' '' ''

_What is he thinking, going all night without sleep?_ Kagome thought peevishly, searching for pajamas. _And cutting apples with a sword, no less!_

_I suppose it's sweet, in a way,_ she admitted. _But how is he supposed to protect me if he's dead on his feet? And who organized this place—I can't find anything!_ She opened a dresser drawer to find not clothing, as she had expected, but stacks of paper pads and pencils.

_Spies are insane,_ Kagome decided. _Let's see, if the pads are where the clothes should be, and the forks were where the pads should be_, she rolled her eyes, thinking of the study she had searched previously, _then the clothes must be where the forks should be. The kitchen drawers? Probably, knowing them._ As an afterthought, she opened the drawer again, grabbed a pad, and shut it once more.

In the kitchen, she opened a drawer by the telephone and blinked in surprise. _It actually worked._

Kagome dug around and pulled out a pair of navy blue pajama pants with little dog bones. _Are these his or Miroku's?_ she wondered (A/N guess which one it is J). _Oh well, they're the same size anyway. And he's probably too sleepy to notice._ She laughed contentedly and headed for the bathroom.

'' '' '' '' ''

Inu-Yasha's ears pricked up as someone knocked on the door. Hastily he turned off the water and pushed his ears back down under his hair. If she saw them…he didn't want to think about that.

"Uh…come in," he called. He heard the door open and the sound of bare feet on the bathroom tiles.

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome called. "I have clothes."

"I'm not coming out with you there," he protested.

"My eyes are closed."

Inu-Yasha peeked around the shower curtain. Kagome stood there, eyes closed, one hand holding out a pair of pants. Tucked beneath her other arm was a pad of paper. He took the pants and put them on in the bathtub.

"I'm decent," he growled, and Kagome opened her eyes.

"Good. Now get into bed."

"But—" he started to protest, but she cut him off.

"Get into bed," Kagome repeated, propelling him into the bedroom. "You can't very well defend me if you're tired, now can you. Don't worry. I'm just going to take a shower, then I'll come sit here with you."

Inu-Yasha relented, letting her tuck him into bed. "Sleep well, Double O Seven," she said with a teasing smile. She kissed his forehead and went to take a shower.

'' '' '' '' ''

Kagome got out of the shower, dried herself off, and nearly had a heart attack.

_Inu-Yasha's pants were moving._

Kagome took a deep breath and walked over to where they lay in a pile on the floor. Cautiously she picked them up and searched the pockets. Something vibrated against her hand and she almost shrieked. Clenching her teeth, she closed her hand around it and pulled out…

…Inu-Yasha's cell phone.

Kagome fell over, the way people tend to in anime. _Baka, baka, baka_, she repeated, yelling at herself. _It's a cell phone._

She flipped it open and said, "Hello?"

An emotionless female voice and said, "Voice not recognized. You are not authorized to use this phone. To override press pound."

_Okay…_ Kagome pressed the button and put the phone to her ear.

"Type in your name and wait for a text message from headquarters," the voice commanded.

Curious, Kagome did as she was told. She didn't have to wait long.

DATE OF BIRTH? it said.

APRIL 17, 1978, she replied.

PETS?

CAT

NAME?

BUYO

PUT THE PHONE TO YOUR EAR

Kagome did. "Hello?"

"Kagome! I wasn't expecting ye!"

"Aunt Kaede?"

"Yes, child, of course. Where be Inu-Yasha?"

"He's asleep."

"Without warding the house?"

Kagome frowned. "What is warding?"

"Shielding the house so demons can't find ye."

"Oh. No, he didn't. I made him take a shower and then sleep. He stayed awake all night!"

On the other end Kaede sighed. "Well, don't be waking him. I'll call back later. Don't leave the house."

"Okay," Kagome agreed, "I'll tell him you called. Are Sango and Miroku okay?"

"They be fine. Speaking of which, I should be getting back to them. I don't trust them alone."

Kagome giggled. "All right, Aunty K. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, child."

Kagome put the phone down and wrapped herself in a towel. Digging around the kitchen drawers she found a pair of wide capris and a red tank top. _Not exactly my choice of wardrobe,_ she thought, looking down at Sango's clothes, _but not to bad, considering who they belong to._ She put them on and collected her pad of paper, then went to sit on the bed beside Inu-Yasha.

_I wish I knew him better,_ she thought, studying his face. It was relaxed, peaceful in sleep, free of his usual frown. But still… _He looks wild, feral…dangerous._

She pushed the eraser of her mechanical pencil, forcing lead up through the tip, and began to write.

_Inu-Yasha…I don't understand him. I want to put him in my story, the one with all of us in it, but I can't. I guessed—and apparently correctly—that Sesshomaru and my ex, Kouga, were demons, because I—or rather Kikyo—sensed something in them. Miroku and Sango and Aunty K I left human because I didn't sense that in them. But with Inu-Yasha…I can't tell. He has that something in him, but it's much weaker than in the others—and he can't be a demon, he's Sango- and Miroku's friend. He's a spy, he's protecting me…why would he do that if he was a demon?_

_I just don't understand him. I wish I did. He's so secretive—I guess it comes from being a spy. But still, you can't live like that. People have emotions, that's what makes us human. He's going to explode if he doesn't talk to someone. I'm sure he has a lot on his mind. Maybe he'll talk to me…Oh, God, I sound like I'm in love with him. Time to change topics…_

She continued to write, pouring out her ideas onto the paper. It was something she did when she was worried, or nervous, or scared. It helped to get her thoughts out into the open where she could deal with them. Over two hours later, she felt Inu-Yasha stir beside her.

"Mm…" he said, sitting up and rubbing his head. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Three hours. Go back to sleep."

"I'm fine," he said. Seeing her paper, he asked, "What is that?"

"Er—nothing," Kagome said, hastily moving the pad to the side opposite him. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Yeah." He got out of bed and looked in the bureau, then closed it and looked at her. "Where—" he began.

Kagome laughed. "Kitchen. Who organized this place, anyway?"

"Miroku," he said simply.

"Ah."

Inu-Yasha went into the kitchen and returned with long shorts and a T-shirt. Kagome slid off the bed (taking her paper pad with her) and went into the kitchen. Inu-Yasha closed the door after she left.

Kagome sighed as she examined the kitchen. They hadn't even been there a day and already it was a mess!

Grumbling to herself, she dug in the freezer. The only thing not past the 'sell by' date was a box of Eggo waffles. Kagome grinned, recognizing Miroku's tastes. She brushed bits of apple peel off of the toaster oven and stuck in a few waffles.

Kagome took the teakettle down off the top of the refrigerator. She filled it with cold water and set it on the stove to boil. Then she realized she couldn't find the tea (or anything else for that mater…). "Inu-Yasha!" she called.

"Yeah?" he came into the kitchen (fully dressed J).

"Do you know where Miroku keeps the tea?"

"He doesn't. He and I are coffee drinkers, and Sango's a juice person. Unless…K might have left some in a cupboard somewhere."

Kagome rolled her eyes but searched until she found the teabags and two mugs. "What were you doing in here to make such a mess?"

"Practicing," he said simply, hooking the waffles out of the toaster oven and dropping them onto a plate.

"Well, you nearly wrecked the table. Clean it up and we can eat."

Inu-Yasha made a face. "You clean it up."

"I'm not the one who made it. If you're going to keep me here indefinitely, you could at least keep the place clean." Kagome stole a waffle, swept a patch of counter free of apple bits, and sat on it. Inu-Yasha glared but came to join her.

They ate in silence, both lost in their respective thoughts. The teakettle began to whistle. Kagome leaned across Inu-Yasha to take it off the stove and poured the boiling water into two mugs, dropping in teabags. She handed one to Inu-Yasha. He was staring at her.

"What?" she said suspiciously.

He went red. "Could you get off?"

"Wha—oh…" she trailed off, turning red as well. She was sprawled across his lap, one had clutching the empty teakettle and the other holding a mug up for him to take. She turned off the burner and set the teapot down, shoved the mug into his hand, retrieved her own mug, and sat up in a movement that hurt her back (and my hands. That is a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG sentence). They sat there in silence once more, contemplating their tea to avoid looking at each other.

Kagome gulped. "Inu-Yasha, your pants are moving…again."

"Again?" He dug into his pocket and retrieved the offending cell phone.

"K called before. That's probably her again."

"Hello?" Inu-Yasha said, flipping open the phone and holding it to his ear. 'What the—come on, K, you know it's me."

He fell silent as K spoke, then heaved a sigh and said, "All right, have it your way. The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." He said it very slowly, as thought talking to an idiot.

Kagome giggled and he shot a glare in her direction. _You're not helping_, he mouthed, and she grinned.

"What? Yeah, I was going to do that. Mm-hmm—_What?_ Are you serious?" he exploded, startling Kagome. "But—no, you're right. Okay, we'll ward this afternoon and then I'll train her. How long do you think—only a month? Good. All right, I'll stay in contact. Mm-hm. Bye." He clicked off the phone and sighed.

"What was that about?" Kagome asked.

Inu-Yasha sighed again and started to run his fingers through his hair. His claws brushed an ear and he winced, remembering who he was with. This was no time to be going demon or even showing he was hanyou. With a third sigh he retracted his claws and removed the hand from his hair. "It's complicated. But the good news is you only have to stay here for a month, if I can train you well enough. Come on. We need to ward this place before we do anything else." He slid off the counter and went to the door.

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked, following him.

"To the roof."

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Whew, that was long. And slightly boring. My fingers hurt…Oh well. At least we're finally back with InuKag. Next chapter is when things start moving…mwahaha…

I think that put me over 10,000 words!!

**_R_**emember, **_E_**lephants **_V_**ery **_I_**ntelligently **_E_**xamine **_W_**indows.

Hahaha, how's that for a subliminal message? See you soon! (I hope I hope I hope…)

--Myriadragon


	6. Ying Yang Opposites Attract

Sorry that last chapter was kinda boring. It was a filler chapter—what do you expect? But this one starts to get good…muahaha…

I have decided that I am the ONLY(!!!) person on the planet to whom things like "don't have sex until you're 18 and in a committed relationship" and "don't do drugs" and "do well in school" actually make sense. The way people act nowadays…little ol' me ends up looking like a prud! Time was, you were considered NORMAL if you followed those rules...Now I really do sound like a prud…God and Goddess, society is going to the DOGS. (There is a muffled 'Hey!' of protest from Inu-Yasha. Sorry, Inu-Kun)

**Disclaimer: **(at pharmacy)…sniff…I'd like to fill this prescription…(hands paper)…okay—ah, we get this one a lot. Let me guess, you don't own Inu-Yasha…(takes bottle)…sniff…nope

**Evil Thing O' The Day:** My Hlth teacher. It is NOT FAIR to put things on the final that we never learned! (Hey, abortion was made legal in 1973, right? I hope so, otherwise I got that wrong…)

Donna: Glad you like the story so far (I can't tell if you've read it all or only Ch. 1 and 2, but hopefully you'll find this). Wahh, you are my only reviewer for Ch. 5!

**THIS OFFICIALLY PUTS ME OVER 10,000 WORDS. I AM HAPPY.**

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 6: Ying Yang (Opposites Attract)_

If you were reading a story about a beautiful writer who has suddenly been forced to go on the run with a dashing if somewhat clumsy spy, there are many places you would expect to find them. In a secret underground lair. In the bedroom. Running from the bad guys and looking really hot. Or (if it were a Walt Disney movie) sharing an extremely chaste kiss in front of a bunch of happy wild fluff balls. But you would not expect to find them on the roof, of all places.

And yet that is exactly where an inquisitive mosquito found Kagome and Inu-Yasha later that afternoon. The mosquito may have been inquisitive, but it was only interested in sucking their blood, not why they were up on the roof, of all places.

You (my dear and oh so wonderful readers :D), however, are an entirely different story. You are no doubt wondering why our protagonists are on the roof, of all places.

You are not alone in thinking this. For as she sat facing Inu-Yasha, straddling the roof, Kagome was wondering the very same thing. She had a benefit that neither you nor the mosquito had—she could ask Inu-Yasha why they were on the roof, of all places

So she did. "Inu-Yasha, why are we on the roof, of all places?"

"Gravity."

"Huh?"

Inu-Yasha growled impatiently. "Don't distract me. I'll tell you later."

So apparently you, Kagome, and the mosquito must wait to find out why they were on the roof, of all places.

(Readers throw fruit (they have restocked from Ch. 5) at author and tell her to get on with the plot already)

It was late afternoon, and Kagome wished she'd put on sun block before coming up. The sun was beating down on her and her testy companion, and she was sure to burn. On top of that, there was a mosquito buzzing around their heads. It eyed them both and then decided Inu-Yasha looked tastier (or perhaps it confused his testiness for tastiness. Mosquitoes have small brains). He landed on Inu-Yasha's nose and began to feed.

Inu-Yasha absent-mindedly slapped at it, turning his nose red and sending a now very flat mosquito flittering to the ground. "Almost as bad as Myoga," he grumbled to no one in particular. "Give me your hands," he ordered.

Kagome did, and he placed them underneath his hands on the shingles. They sat facing each other with their knees touching, straddling the peak of the roof with their clasped hands between them.

"Normally Naraku—or any other demon, for that matter—could trace our unique energies and find us. Obviously, we don't want that to happen. So we ward the house.

"You don't know how to use your powers yet, so I'm going to have to do this for you. Warding, like everything else, is really just a matter of energy. In this case, conflicting energy. It needs two people—a man and a woman—to be done properly.

"Warding is done by focusing on opposites—ying and yang. If applied correctly, equal amounts of opposite powers cancel each other out and those who can sense energies feel nothing.

"Each person's personal energy center is located here," he said, tapping her chest, "Over the heart. Just as the heart pumps blood around the body to deliver nutrients, so the energy center pumps energy around the body to deliver—well, energy." (when did Inu-Yasha become so smart?)

"Um…I think I get it," Kagome said.

"Good. I'm going to use my energy to pull yours out of you, because you can't do it for yourself yet. You might feel a slight throbbing sensation in your heart—" (ah yes, Inu-Kun is a heartthrob…;)) "—which is just me pulling at your energy."

"Okay," Kagome said. She took a deep breath and said resolutely, "I'm ready."

"Right. Now, concentrate on everything that makes you a woman—your female energy. I'll be concentrating on my male energy, and if we apply them at the same time, in the same amount, they will cancel each other out." Inu-Yasha closed his eyes, as did Kagome.

She concentrated hard on being a woman—the Mother, the Daughter, the Girl, the Womb, the Earth, the Water, the Moon, Emotions and Darkness, that complete, gentle, connected sense of Femaleness that was her sanctuary. Across from her she could feel Inu-Yasha pulling in little tendrils of his energy—the Father, the Warrior, the Boy, the Weapon, the Fire, the Air, the Sun, Actions and Light, the strong, rough, aloof sense of Maleness that belongs to every man.

The throbbing came, in her heart, as Inu-Yasha's Maleness tried to tease her Femaleness out of her body and into their joined hands. She forced with her mind, pushing her energy out to join his in a knot that bound them together in ways to deep to give words to. Inu-Yasha took the knot and gently severed the ends that connected it to them, then sank it gently into the roof.

Kagome opened her eyes. "Wow," she said softly. She and Inu-Yasha removed their hands from the rooftop to reveal a patch of glowing light about the size of her fist. It flickered nervously, not entirely sure of Its purpose now that It was severed from its Mother and Father. "We made that?"

"Yeah," Inu-Yasha said quietly. "Now we just need to show it what to do." He gently touched a finger to the Ward and pulled a tendril of its energy down the roof. "Come on, come on," he said to it, in the gentle, pleading tone one uses with a young child.

Kagome, seeing his intent, placed her fingers on the ward as well and began to coax it down the roof.

"It likes you better," Inu-Yasha said, seeing how well it responded to her touch. "I suppose that isn't surprising—there is a special bond between Mother and Child that the Father can never fully understand."

Kagome looked up at him sharply. Inu-Yasha went a little red. "Sorry. Am I being too philosophical?"

She shook her head. "No…I was just surprised at what you were saying. But it makes sense, in more ways than it should. It is like a child."

"We just need to get It to connect with gravity. Gravity is essentially the Earth's energy, and once It connects with that It will be stable." He continued to stroke his fingers down along the Ward's energy tendrils, but he let her do most of the pulling. Not only was it easier for her, being the Mother, but it also served to acclimate her to working with energy.

Suddenly Ward's light pulsed and Its tendrils flowed downwards, plunging into the ground and widening until the whole house was bathed in Its luminescence. Ward pulsed again and went out, leaving the house looking normal.

"Are you sure it worked? I can still feel It," Kagome said worriedly. "Isn't the point that you can't feel anything?"

"We can feel It because we created it—we are Its Parents. But Ward is a complete being, with balanced Femaleness and Maleness—no one else can sense It."

"Balanced Femaleness and Maleness…" Kagome said thoughtfully. "As opposed to our imbalances."

"Yes," he said, surprised at how well she understood. _Then again,_ Inu-Yasha reminded himself, _She is an author. They understand things much better than most people._ To her he said, "That's why there is so much conflict—as English teachers say, both external and internal. Only those who have balanced their maleness and femaleness can be truly peaceful."

"I have maleness?"

"And I have femaleness. It just isn't as strong as my maleness."

Kagome smiled. "Because you don't let it be."

"No, I suppose I don't," he agreed.

And then Kagome kissed him.

It was a chaste, close-lipped kiss that didn't really surprise him. They had shared so much—their energies, their thoughts, even created a child of sorts—that they were inextricably bound together. He kissed her back, gently, sealing the magick rite they had done together.

She pulled away and reeled, nearly falling off the roof. Inu-Yasha caught her by the arm and pulled her back up to sit astride the roof.

"I forgot," he said quietly. "You aren't used to this. You used a lot of your energy and you're very weak. Let's go back inside."

Kagome nodded and let him help her down off the roof. As he took her inside she noticed that the sun had set. _Odd,_ she thought lazily. _It was noon when we went up._

'' '' '' '' ''

After a quick dinner cooked by Inu-Yasha, who seemed to have more energy left than she did at present, they went to bed. Just hours before they would have thought it incorrect to sleep in the same bed, but they were both very tired, and that and the bond they now shared overcame any petty embarrassments they held.

"Good night, Inu-Yasha," Kagome said sleepily, with her head on his shoulder.

"Good night, Kagome," he replied, wrapping his free arm around her waist. He looked up at the moon. It was full, a symbol of the Goddess as the Mother, and of women everywhere.

He kissed the forehead of the woman sleeping next to him. _Opposites, ying and yang. Male and female, light and dark—though it should be dark and light. Demon and human,_ he thought bitterly. _What we share now is more than I've ever shared with anyone…and she knows it. Maybe it's that way for her, too, but she has other bonds, nearly as strong as this one. With her mother, and her brother. But Mom died when I was young, and as for my brother…_He snorted. _Well, somehow I don't think it's quite that strong, although hatred is a powerful bond. Sesshomaru never did accept me. Will she? We share something powerful, more intimate than most people obtain in a lifetime of love._

Inu-Yasha blinked. _Love? Do I…love her? Perhaps I do. But does she—will she—there's no way she will accept me. Bond or no, I am the very thing she fears._ He blinked again, not from surprise, but in an effort to hold back tears. _I don't want her to leave me._

He growled sharply, causing Kagome to stir. Inu-Yasha stiffened, but saw she was still asleep. He hugged her protectively to him and tried to put his thoughts away, relaxing into sleep.

But one thought refused to go away as he hovered between the realms of Sleep and Awake—

_Do I love her?_

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

Well, I think we all know the answer to that :P.

Inu-Yasha: I am not that sappy

Kagome: And he's not that insightful

Myriadragon: Sorry, Inu-Kun, Kame, but I'm allowed some artistic license, right?

(Inu-Yasha and Kagome steal readers' fruit and begin to pelt author)

All right, all right, I yield! I honestly didn't mean to make it that…deep. But it's raining and I had writers block so I was staring at the raindrops hitting the leaves and I felt very…oh, I dunno, it's one of those feelings you can't describe. Connected, I suppose, and mystical, and empowered (kinda like everything Kagome was feeling when she was concentrating on her Femaleness). So it just came out that way. I didn't mean to go all Pagan on you but it's part of what I believe so you'll have to deal with it. In all honesty, I am extremely happy with this chapter. I really think that I wrote it well, because I wasn't trying to write so much as pouring out my thoughts. And I've been sorta depressed lately and this grounded me, so I feel better. Of course now I have to go be hyper for an hour or so, to balance out my deepness.

Random fact: It took me three complete playings of the _Pirate of the Caribbean_ soundtrack to write this.

I do not think I will update tomorrow because I have to buy my BFF a present and then go to her party. In fact, I will be busy all this weekend with YSP (we're starting Cymbeline) but I will try to get a chapter out by Monday. Next chappie is _The New Moon_ (unless I decide to add something else in), and who knows what interesting things will happen then!

**_R_**emember, **_E_**lephants **_V_**ery **_I_**ntelligently **_E_**xamine **_W_**indows

My subliminal message doesn't work that well; I only got two reviews, both from the same person. Please review! I need to know what AU and beta are!!!

--Myriadragon


	7. InuYasha's Core

YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH too much to do…

a) _Cymbeline_—I have 438 lines to memorize (I counted…), and rehearsals every day

b) _Nightly Revels and New Jollity_—this is a workshop I did last winter. But we're doing a few scenes at Borders (heh heh, the infamous Borders :D) on 6-30, so now I have to re-memorize/rehearse for that too

c) this darn thing =)

d) my BDay is coming up…

Oh yeah, I have a challenge. If you go to my bio page, you'll find a clue to my birth date. If you can give me the MM/DD/YY of when I was born, I will put you into my story! The deadline is…my birthday (so get a move on!) (Oh and to my BFF, you are not eligible, I know you know my BDay. I'll put you in anyway =D)

**Disclaimer:** (looks at bottle of pills) sniff…maybe these will help…(takes a few)…KABOING—KABOING—KABOING…(bouncing off the walls noises)

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **ff.net. They keep destroying my emoticons…(case in point: --#)

**Kokuei**: sniff…you are my only reviewer for Ch. 6! Glad you liked my pathetic insanity…er, philosophy ;)Thanx for the definitions!

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 7: Inu-Yasha's Core_

_Breeee! Breeee! Breeee!_

Kagome groaned and opened her eyes. The sun shone in through the bedroom window, illumination the sleeping form of Inu-Yasha.

_I don't remember this_, she thought dryly, noticing his arms around her. She tried to sit up but he growled in his sleep and held her more tightly to him. Kagome sighed, defeated, and closed her eyes. Maybe she could—

_Breeee! Breeee! Breeee!_

Kagome's eyes snapped open. "Stupid cell phone," she grumbled to now one in particular. "Inu-Yasha, you baka, I thought your phone was set on vibrate." She tried to sit up, but was again stopped by Inu-Yasha.

Kagome struggled against him, the cell phone's demanding beeps ringing in her ears. But it was no use—he was much stronger than she would ever be. He was growling louder now. Kagome growled back in frustration, and winced as the ringing grew louder too, apparently determined to drown them both out.

Then she had an idea. She ceased her struggles, leaning against him. The muscles of his arms relaxed, and his growls slowly faded.

_Finally,_ Kagome thought, relieved. _I wonder what he dreams about, to be so protective of me._ Moving slowly, so as not to startle him, she slid her hand up to rest on his bare chest, over his heart. She closed her eyes and concentrated, pushing the insistent beeps of Inu-Yasha's phone away.

Kagome reached into her energy and pulled out a thread of power. She directed it to her shoulder, letting it flow down her arm and through her hand into the center of Inu-Yasha's power.

_This is confusing. And overwhelming,_ Kagome thought. _So much power…and so many emotions, all sorts of colors and textures swirling around and clashing together. I feel like I've been swallowed by a washing machine…_

She had to laugh at that. _A washing machine! I have too much imagination. Now, if I can only find a way to wake him up… _She began to explore his core, pressing more energy through her hand. _Inu-Yasha…Inu-Yasha, can you hear me? Wake up…_

_What is that?_ she wondered. She had stumbled upon a mass of energy, much more powerful than where she had been before. It crackled against her power, leaving a sensation of blood and lightning. Kagome shivered. She was scared, but stubbornly curious as well. Cautiously but firmly she pressed onward, sending out probing tendrils. Tears and bones and blood and thunder… _This seems familiar, I _know_ what this is, but I can't name it. What—_

Kagome jumped as a hand closed around her wrist and forced her away.

"Stay out of there," Inu-Yasha said dangerously. His eyes were turning red. "Don't you _ever_ do that again," he warned, shaking her by the shoulders to make sure she understood. "Don't you _ever_—"

"Inu-Yasha, you're hurting me," she said weakly.

The hanyou blinked, and his eyes faded back to amber. He relaxed his hands and pulled back, eyes widening as his fingers brushed the red marks on her arms. He had done that to her. Damn it, he was supposed to be protecting her, and now he'd hurt her.

"Kagome, I'm sor—" he started.

"You're cell phone is ringing," she said coldly. She did not look at him but left the room with her head held high.

Inu-Yasha cursed and kicked the door shut after her. "Damn, damn, _damn_," he growled. Angry more at himself than her, he swore once more and stomped over to his phone.

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain," he snapped. "What do you want?"

"My, my, Inu-Yasha," Kaede said calmly. "What's gotten ye so bothered?"

"She—I almost—what the hell is wrong with that wench?!" he exploded.

"Inu-Yasha, calm down," Kaede ordered. "What happened?"

Inu-Yasha took a deep breath in and let it out as a heavy sigh. "We did the ward. She's good with energy—very good. Then for some reason she was in my mind, in my soul—she found the core of my demon power!" he exclaimed, and had to take another deep breath to calm himself. He began to pace. "I guess her exploring woke the demon in me—which woke _me._ I was sleeping. I nearly lost it and went demon. And I—I scared her, I _hurt_ her. If I hadn't snapped out of it…" Inu-Yasha trailed off. He sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. "I could have killed her," he finished weakly.

Kaede was surprised to hear tears in his voice. _The Ward-bond has affected ye deeply, Inu-Yasha_, she thought. _ Too deeply, and now ye be afraid. I pray to the gods she does not reject ye._ Aloud, she said, "But ye didn't, and that be the important thing. All will be well," she said kindly. "Talk to Kagome and she will understand."

"And tell her I'm a hanyou?" he said despairingly.

"That be your decision. Ye must tell her eventually; whether that be now or later is up to ye. But that be not why I called. Why be the computer not responding?"

"We haven't turned it on," Inu-Yasha said sheepishly.

"Well then that be you're project for today. Talk to Kagome, and get her to help ye. I'll contact you through the computer tomorrow."

Inu-Yasha sighed and hung up. He ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit that invariably left his ears showing. With a growl he shoved them back down under his hair and went to find Kagome.

'' '' '' '' ''

He found her in the study, curled up in the computer chair, hugging her knees to her chest. A fresh wave of guilt rolled through his stomach as he saw the dark bruises on her arms. "Kagome?"

She ignored him. Inu-Yasha went over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Kagome flinched and pulled free.

Feeling worse with every refusal, Inu-Yasha knelt down next to her. "Look at me," he ordered, but she ignored him. "Kagome, please," he begged, but again she refused.

Inu-Yasha willed himself not to growl and scare her further. He seized the seat of her chair and spun her around to face him. She looked at him, but the look in her eyes was so painful that he wished she had not.

_I can't tell her I'm a hanyou, not now,_ he thought desperately. _But then how do I explain? Kaede always says the best way to lie is with the truth…all right…_

"Kagome, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, or scare you." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "I'm a very private person. There are…memories, of things I'd like to forget, that I keep locked up inside of me. You…reminded me of them when you touched them. I have a temper, a bad one, and I—I just lost it." He took her hand in his, tracing her knuckles with his thumb. "I'm sorry, Kagome, I really am. Please…please don't hate me."

"I don't." Her voice was very quiet. "You scared me so much…I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have invaded your privacy."

"It's all right." He gave her arm a gentle tug, and she let him pull her down to kneel beside him. He hugged her briefly and she returned it. When they pulled apart Inu-Yasha told her what K had said.

"Get the computer running? Sounds like fun. I'll make breakfast while you get started."

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I originally didn't plan on this chapter. But I needed a way to introduce _The New Moon_ (the next chapter), so I wrote this to go at the beginning. Then I realized that would get a little long, and that this could stand on its own, so here it is. See you soon!!

-Myriadragon


	8. The New Moon

Muahaha, we're finally here. I've been waiting for this chapter for a while. It didn't turn out quite how I wanted it to, but not bad, considering.

Don't forget the challenge! No one has given me an answer yet! Give me my birth date and I'll put you into my story (one of them, any way…)!

**I will be happy to beta for anyone who wants a beta (now that I know what a beta is, thanx Kokuei!), just post a review w/your email address and I'll email you.**

**Disclaimer:** (still high from anti-depressants) WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T OWN INU-YASHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **I'll get back to you on that one…

World dominator/ho hwa/Whak and s---- c----: I think we covered most of this at YSP. Sorry bout the blister, glad you liked the chappie. Higho.

**Kokuei: **glad you like it. I don't need help at the moment but later on I may have some trouble so I'll tell you first! PS how did you come up with your username? It's cool!

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter Eight: The New Moon_

Two weeks passed. They had gotten the computer running with little trouble (little trouble for a computer, that is, which means it took them the better part of three days…), and Inu-Yasha had begun to train Kagome to use her powers. She was learning quickly, and soon she was able to slip past Inu-Yasha's guard and deal some damage.

Speaking of which…

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome called, slightly worried. She ran over to where he had fallen. "Are you all right?"

The hanyou groaned and sat up, rubbing his head with his hand. "That _hurt_," he complained.

"Sorry…" she said.

Inu-Yasha sighed and brought his hand down, then stiffened.

"What?" Kagome asked, but he ignored her.

_Oh, crap,_ he thought. _Oh, crap. Not now…_

His claws were gone, replaced with normal human nails. He pulled a lock of hair over his shoulder, but fortunately that was still silver. "Uh…I'm going to take a shower." He ran for the house.

_What was that about?_ Kagome wondered, following at a somewhat more sedate pace.

'' '' '' '' ''

Behind the locked door of the bathroom, Inu-Yasha groaned. How could he have forgotten it was the new moon? He'd gotten to the house before anything noticeable changed, but it had been a close call…

He sighed and got in the shower. _I'll just tell her I washed the dye out_, he decided. _She'll believe that._

'' '' '' '' ''

Kagome had wisely decided to stay in the kitchen, out of the hanyou's way. _I wonder what's gotten into him?_ she thought, and jumped as a rather loud curse sounded from the bedroom.

"Inu-Yasha?" she called, gingerly opening the door. "Hey, so _that's_ what your hair really looks like!"

"Uh…yeah," he said, looking up at her.

"Oh, wow," she breathed, looking at his eyes. They were a deep, vibrant, mystical purple, so stunning they could only be called amethyst. Her own blue-grey irises paled in comparison. "You took your contacts out."

"Yeah…Damn it!"

"What's wrong?"

"My hair," he mumbled. _Demon hair is so much easier to care for…_

"I'll do it," Kagome said, coming to sit on the bed behind him. He handed her the comb and she began to run it through his hair.

"You're much more patient than I am," he remarked as she delicately teased a snarl out of his hair.

"Well, it's not your fault you're a guy," she replied, laughter in her voice.

"Shut up and comb, wench," he grumbled.

"You're so polite," she said dryly.

"Thank you."

Kagome laughed, and so did he. Slowly their laughter faded into comfortable silence.

Inu-Yasha closed his eyes and relaxed. It was nice, sitting here with her, not worrying about anything. Part of him tried to dismiss this as human foolishness, but most of him was extremely content.

"Hey, how did you get these?" Kagome asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"These scars," she said, tracing a pair of lines along the top of his head.

_That's where my ears would be,_ he thought. _ I never noticed that before._ To Kagome he said, "Uh…shrapnel. A…um…locker exploded and I got hit."

"Ooh," she said, wincing. "Well, you're done." She patted his shoulder and winced again. "You're tense."

"Well, _you're_ the one who keeps slamming me into the ground," he grumbled, trying to relax his muscles.

Kagome laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. Let me make it up to you?" She began to knead his shoulders with her fingers.

"Mm…" Inu-Yasha said, rolling his head back against her fingers. "That feels nice."

"Well, that's more or less the point," she said, her hands moving down to his back.

"How did you get so good at this?"

"K taught me."

"K?!"

Kagome laughed. "Calm down. Yes, _K_. She's more than just a spy, you know."

"It just seems a little…out of character. Hey, don't stop," he protested.

Kagome slid her arms around his waist and leaned against his back. "But I'm tired."

Inu-Yasha hadn't expected that. He turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were closed and she looked…happy? "Are you going to go to sleep on me?"

"Probably. You're comfortable…" she replied.

"Er…if you say so." He was actually rather pleased with the situation. Inu-Yasha absently reached a hand up to rub her arm. The bruises he had caused were finally healed, much to his relief.

_This is nice,_ he thought, almost in spite of himself. _She's warm…_ He sighed happily.

But the problem is…I don't know. I'm with her, I'm happy, but I'm still on edge. I can't completely relax. Has being a spy made me so paranoid?

Even as he thought it, he knew that wasn't the problem. _No, it's her…or rather me. Damn it, I _am_ in love with her!_ (Uh, Inu-Kun, that's a good thing…) _But that's supposed to be a good thing._ (There you go.) _So why am I so tense?_ He sighed and Kagome shifted against him. _I can't do this. I have to tell her I'm a hanyou._

'' '' '' '' ''

At dinner the next night Inu-Yasha shifted in his chair and checked his watch for the umpteenth time.

"Honestly, Inu-Yasha, what's gotten into you? You've been awfully tense since last night." Kagome gave him a reproving look.

Inu-Yasha sighed and checked his watch again. It was almost moonrise. "Kagome, come with me," he ordered, seizing her hand and pulling her to the window. "There's something I have to show you."

Kagome frowned, confused. "What?"

"Just…wait." He didn't look at her but stared out the window.

Slowly the moon came into view over the horizon. Kagome watched its light shine in through the window and hit her companion. She gasped as he began to change.

The roots of his hair grayed and turned to silver-white. The color spread slowly down to the ends, trickling down as reluctantly as the Ward they'd created only a few weeks before. His ears grew to points, moving to the top of his head where they rested as snowy white dog ears. His teeth lengthened, as did his nails, turning to fangs and claws. Finally, his eyes flickered from amethyst through several shades of brown to amber.

Kagome took a step back. "You're a demon," she breathed, eyes wide.

"A hanyou, actually," he said quietly. "My mother was human."

"I—wow," she said weakly, turning to look out the window. "This explains a lot. You go human with the new moon? And that day I explored your core—that thing I found was your demon core. Were you…turning into a full demon?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause, then Kagome said, "Do you know, I was thinking of writing a sequel to _Demon's Goal_? Just for fun, of course, but it had all of us in it, as well as some other people I know. Some of them I made into demons, like your cousin—"

"Brother."

Kagome raised her eyebrows but didn't comment on this revelation. "—Like your _brother_, Sesshomaru. Some I kept human, like Miroku and Sango. But you…you I couldn't figure. I guess the part of me that is Kikyo knew who was human and who was demon. But the conflicting energies I got from you were so confusing that I—or she—or we—couldn't figure it out."

"Kikyo knows me. I wanted the Jewel, once. You look a lot like the Kikyo I fought."

"Once? As in no longer?" When Inu-Yasha nodded, Kagome asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to, but I couldn't. We were on the run from demons—technically we still are—and I needed you to trust me. Would you have if you'd known I was a demon?"

"Half," she said with a small smile. "You're only half demon. And you have dog ears…" she reached up and gently rubbed his ears. "They're soft," she said, laughing softly.

"You…you aren't afraid of me?" he asked quietly, hardly daring to believe it.

"No, I'm terrified of you." Her voice was quiet, calm, not teasing, but not condemning either. "But…I still trust you. Gods only know why, but I do. I'll stop fearing you eventually."

Inu-Yasha brushed his hand against hers. "Thank you."

Kagome smiled at him. "Thank _you_ for trusting me. Come on. Let's go to bed."

Inu-Yasha let her pull him into the bedroom and tuck him in, and when she lay down next to him he smiled. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "Are you okay with this?"

"Mm," she said, pressing closer. "I've gotten used to sleeping like this. Besides, I feel safe like this. You can't feel safe and afraid at the same time, now can you?"

He smiled into her hair. "No, I guess you can't."

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

So now she knows. Lalala…that went better than I expected but not as well as it could have (like most things I do…).

Tengo una problema. My wife (yeah, I'm a girl, but in _Cymbeline_ I play a man) is taller and wider than me, and I'm supposed to strike her so that she falls down and is nearly unconscious (I don't know it's my wife at the time, of course, she's in disguise as a man)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!

Anyway, see you soon! (Maybe. I'm having trouble with Ch. 9)

--Myriadragon


	9. Strength and Weakness of a Priestess

Hello. YAY YAY YAY my reviews have multiplied! I have 6 new ones!!!!!

I know it's been a while since I updated, but the good news is I now know what my next project is after DOD! It's called _Ten Thousand Shades of Yellow_, and I have so many ideas! I can't wait to start it (Don't worry, I'll finish DOD first!)!

10Y is a sci-fi romance (same pairings) that's got a sorta _Ayashi no Ceres_ kinda feel, with a little bit of _Andromeda_ thrown in for no good reason (I am probably the only person on the planet who draws from a Western sci-fi/action random TV show and a Japanese fantasy/horror/romance philosophical manga…). And I'm pretty sure it's an original idea, too! Speaking of which, it will probably be much longer than DOD, and if I changed the names I could probably get it published…hmm…(strokes beard)… If you want more info, check my bio page.

And no one has entered my contest (AGAIN). Oh well, it was a stupid idea. I may or may not update on my birthday (more likely not), but next time you will all receive a severe chastening!!!!

**I WOULD LIKE TO ISSUE A WARNING. ANY REVIEWS THAT HAVE BEEN SIGNED WITH RANDOM MONIKERS SUCH AS 'WHAK AND S---- C----' OR 'MORE PERVY JUNK' OR ENDING IN 'HIGHO, SLEEPY' ARE THE RESULT OF THE DERANGED BEING KNOWN AS MY BFF AND SHOULD BE IGNORED IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE SANITY OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC.**

**Disclaimer:** (the anti-depressants have worn off slightly, but the author is still out of it)…Yasha…not own…but…Inu…own…beer mat…uh…bed rat…bread tap…Breathtrap! That's it, Breathtrap…

**Evil Thing O' The Day:** my kitty (the one who's very Miroku) decided last night that my bra looked tasty…

**Kokuei: **(head spinning from length of review) uhh…I think I processed all of that. I'll email you sometime, and I'll read your stories too!

More pervy junk: DIE. Higho.

**Dreamteazer:** glad you like it. I haven't done much magick myself, but it's cool that I got that kinda close (I've been doing a lot of reading, that's probably why).

**Pirate-rover: **glad you liked it! I'm also glad people have been so supportive of my philosophical insanity…I may not get around to _Te Amo, Maestra _for a while (see note above) but if 10Y starts getting too dark I'll start it for balance (oh no here I go again, balance…but TAM would be light, and 10Y dark…heh heh heh)

**FlamingRedFox:** yay, thanx for putting me on your favorites. _When Chipmunks Attack _was odd…but hilarious. I wanna read _When Squirrels Attack_!

Anyway, on with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter Nine: Strength and Weakness of a Priestess_

It was now ten days since the new moon, and Kagome and Inu-Yasha continued to train. Kagome had developed a habit of touching Inu-Yasha whenever they were together—a hand on his shoulder or arm, a kiss on the forehead of cheek; simple gestures to reassure him she wasn't afraid. She had taken his revelation surprisingly well, shedding her fear in less than a week.

He was of course delighted that she hadn't rejected him. The gentle intimacy they now shared pleased him as well, but his joy was tinged with sadness. He still hadn't been able to tell her how he felt. Part of it was a lingering fear of her fear of demons. But most of it was the simple fear of rejection everyone feels when they're in love.

Kagome had progressed in her training as well. She had gotten to the point where Inu-Yasha could wield Tetsusaiga against her and not be (completely) worried.

"Hey Inu-Yasha?"

He looked up over his shoulder to where she was washing the breakfast dishes. "What?"

"When we train today—don't hold back, okay? Fight as though you were training Miroku or Sango."

He gaped at her. "But, Kagome—"

She cut him off. "No buts. I need to know if I'm strong enough.'

"But…" Inu-Yasha trailed off with a sigh. "I don't want to hurt you," he said quietly.

Kagome gave him a small smile. "I know," she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "But I need to be sure. Besides, you're pretty weak."

"I am not!" Inu-Yasha replied indignantly.

"Oh really. Then how come you go all twitchy whenever I do this?" She blew gently on his ear.

Inu-Yasha's shoulders jerked and his ears flicked away from her. "Don't _do_ that," he complained. "It tickles."

Kagome laughed. "See?"

He glared at her and she stuck out her tongue. "Oh all right," he grumbled. "But if I kill you I'll kill you."

"That made no sense at all."

"You know what I mean. Come on, let's get this over with," Inu-Yasha grumbled.

'' '' '' '' ''

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" Inu-Yasha shouted, lunging at Kagome. She bent back out of his way, letting his own momentum carry him past her. He spun around with a curse and aimed at her again, willing himself to believe it was Sango he was fighting and not Kagome.

It helped that she was wearing Sango's clothes and had her hair up like Sango's often was. If he didn't think about it, he could let himself believe Kagome was Sango.

So he relaxed and unconsciously began leading Kagome into one of the choreographed fights he and Sango did in training when Miroku wasn't around to fight with.

Inu-Yasha drew Tetsusaiga and aimed a backhanded slice at Kagome's left side. She slid down into a squat, letting the sword whistle harmlessly over her head. Her leg snapped out to sweep his feet out from under him.

_Damn, Sango isn't that fast_, Inu-Yasha thought as he fell. He caught himself and flipped upright as Kagome aimed another kick his way. He caught her foot and pulled, forcing her to stumble past him.

She made use of her momentum, turning it into a forward roll. Kagome was on her feet in a flash, running across the yard. Inu-Yasha followed, his super-human speed soon bringing him past her.

He turned to face Kagome, who had nearly run into him. He reached for her throat, but she was faster. Her palm slapped into his gut, bringing with it a blinding rush of pink energy.

Inu-Yasha flew backwards and landed heavily. _Oww…if it wasn't for the dampeners I put around her power I'd be dead._ Without thinking he released the Breathtrap.

Rubbing his back, Inu-Yasha sat up with a groan. _How did Sango get so good?_ he wondered. Then: _Shit._

Inu-Yasha was on his feet like a shot. He ran over to where Kagome lay, gasping for breath, "Oh, no. Oh, no." he muttered. He placed his hand on her chest, between her breasts, connected with the energy pulsing in her, and _PULLED_. His head shot back and he clenched his teeth, hissing in pain as the raw power flowed up his arm back into his heart.

Kagome moaned and stirred beneath his hand. He sighed in relief and helped her sit up, pulling her into his arms.

"Oh thank God," he whispered into her hair.

Kagome made another pained noise. "What the hell are you trying to do to me, hanyou?" she demanded weakly.

Reluctantly Inu-Yasha let her pull away. "I…It's called as Breathtrap," he said with a resigned sigh. "You hit me with enough power to kill a demon. Most demons have a sort of revenge for that—the Breathtrap. I forgot I was fighting you and not Sango, so I released it."

"But what _is_ it?" Kagome demanded. "And why do I feel like someone tried to fit me into a thimble and then disconnected all my atoms?"

Inu-Yasha blushed. "Well…because they kind of did. Our personal energy is what holds us together. When a demon is killed, that releases the Breathtrap. Basically all the demon's remaining energy is transferred to whoever killed it. The extra force causes that person to…implode.

"I let myself forget it was you I was fighting, and not Sango," he continued. "She knows how to counter the Breathtrap. But you don't and when I tried to remove it I took too much energy. So that's why you feel so…"

"Disjointed?"

"Yeah. See, a Breathtrap fuses with all the loose energy of your body—the energy field—so it's hard to take it out without removing some of the victim's energy at the same time.

"And how do I counter it?" Kagome asked, putting a hand on his shoulder and trying to stand. She let him help her to her feet.

"Well, you have to know it's coming, and accept it, or else you're in trouble. Basically instead of letting it mesh with your energy field you take it into your core."

"Oh…" Kagome replied.

He led her into the house and sat her down at the kitchen table. Inu-Yasha then went to find the first-aid kit. "I'm very sorry," he said, gently bandaging a scrape on her wrist (random injury…). "I…I guess I goofed."

"'Sall right," she said quietly. "Shows you're…you're still human."

She sniffed and Inu-Yasha looked up. A tear ran down her cheek and splashed onto his hand.

"Oh, Kame," he said, wrapping his arms around her. He realized what he was doing and blushed. "I'm just making things worse, aren't I?"

"No," she protested, leaning against him. "I'm not afraid of you, remember? I just…Well, think about it. I've spent almost a moth hiding from demons with a hanyou and training to protect a gem I've never even seen and just had a near-death experience, and only having half my energy makes me light headed. It's enough to make anyone cry."

Inu-Yasha laughed. 'You are entirely too sensible for your own good, you know that?"

"Mm…" Kagome closed her eyes.

"Hey?"

"…What?"

Inu-Yasha bent his head down and kissed her lightly. With the kiss came a jolt of power that sent energy crackling up and down her spine.

"What the—"

Inu-Yasha blushed again. "I figured you'd want your energy back."

One of her eyebrows rose slightly. "You are weird," Kagome decided, leaning against him and closing her eyes again.

"But that's what makes me special."

Kagome laughed. "You say special, I say weird. Let's call the whole thing off," she sang quietly.

"Now who's weird?"

'' '' '' '' ''

The next morning Kagome was in the kitchen making Inu-Yasha coffee while he checked in with K. After a few failed attempts (baka technology…), he managed to connect to the Internet and log into K's website.

PASSWORD?

THERAININSPAINSTAYSMAINLYINTHEPLAIN, he typed.

K appeared on the large screen that covered half a wall in the study. Miroku and Sango were with her.

"Ah, Inu-Yasha, good," she said. "Where be Kagome?"

"Uh…Kagome!" he called.

"Hm?" she said, walking into the study. She handed him a mug of coffee and leaned over his shoulder. "Hey, Sango!"

On the screen, the three spies exchanged glances. Now that it had been pointed out to him, even Miroku could see how Kagome's hand lingered on Inu-Yasha's shoulder, and the way his eyes lit up when she touched him.

_They're in love,_ all three thought. But it was also painfully obvious that they had no idea—or they were afraid the other person didn't feel the same way.

This is going to be difficult… 

"I finally got through to Mr. Tenant—"

"That's the Director of Intelligence, right?" Inu-Yasha cut in.

"Yes, Inu-Kun," Miroku said with an exasperated sigh.

"Well there's no need to patronize me…"

"If I could continue?" K said irritable.

"By all means." Miroku gave her a cheeky bow.

"Sango, take the monk somewhere and keep him busy," K said without looking at her. "We have business to do."

As Sango towed Miroku off-screen, K continued, "As I was saying, I got through to Mr. Tenant finally, and told him about the situation. He was…less than happy, and…"

"And?" Kagome prompted. "What is it, Kaede?"

"Well…"

"Spit it out," Inu-Yasha snapped. He was getting antsy, and didn't know why—which only made him more nervous.

"He wants Kagome out of your care," K said with a heavy sigh. "I told him you'd never betray us, but he was convinced that your demon blood would…well, 'take over an otherwise loyal brain' was the exact term he used. So now Kagome must come back to Madison and Sango and Miroku will protect her."

"What?" Kagome said in disbelief. Inu-Yasha's hand came up to cover the one on his shoulder. "But—Inu-Yasha would never hurt me! And who does he think he is, that he can tell me what to do? I'll stay with whoever I want!"

"Kagome, we have no choice. He's the Director of Intelligence—his word is final. You need to be under Sango- and Miroku's protection by midnight tonight."

"But—"

"Kagome, we don't have a choice," Inu-Yasha said heavily, squeezing her hand.

"But—"

"Look, Kagome, he said you have to leave and that's what's going to happen!" he snapped. He shook off her hand and stormed out of the room.

Kagome stared after him. "Inu-Yasha…"

"Kagome, ye'd best get ready to go," K said.

She sank down into the chair Inu-Yasha had vacated. "How can they do that? Just because he's a hanyou—"

"We've explained this all ready, Kagome! We're spies--it's in the job description. Everyone is suspecting and suspected."

"But he can't help who his parents were!"

"Kagome, stop being so stubborn! You can complain all you want, but it won't change anything. Look, this isn't the first time this has happened," K said with a sigh. "Inu-Yasha's mixed blood has caused trouble before. By now he's used to it."

"It just doesn't seem fair…"

"And it's not. But there's not a thing ye can be doing to change it. Go get ready."

'' '' '' '' ''

Inu-Yasha was sitting on the bed, staring glumly at his hands. Kagome sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. "Hey."

"Hey," he said quietly.

"K says this has happened before."

"Yeah," he said, trying and failing not to sound bitter. "I guess I'm used to it."

"If it helps, I'd rather stay with you."

"I guess it does, a little," Inu-Yasha replied, turning in her arms so he was leaning against her sideways. "But it doesn't change anything."

"It's not like he issued a restraining order—we can still be friends."

"Yeah," Inu-Yasha replied. _Only friends?_

"And we'll defeat Naraku and then we can see each other whenever."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Inu-Yasha?"

"Yeah?"

Kagome laughed. "Do you ever say anything but 'yeah'?"

"Yeah," he replied, grinning. "What?"

"Where is the Shikon no Tama?"

He sat up. "You mean you don't know?"

"Well…no. Nobody ever told me, and I figured if I'm supposed to protect it I should know where it is."

Inu-Yasha put his hand over her heart. "It's right here."

"Inside me?"

"In your heart."

"So that means no one can get it out without killing me."

"Uh…yeah."

Kagome laughed nervously. "'Yeah' again. That's kind of scary."

"But you can defend yourself now," he said, looking up at her.

"Yeah…" she said, studying his face. He leaned closer…

"INU-YASHA! KAGOME! GET BACK HERE AND TURN OFF THE COMPUTER BEFORE YE FORGET!"

Kagome and Inu-Yasha both jumped and ran for the study.

"Gods, K, you don't have to yell," Inu-Yasha grumbled. "I'll see you soon," he added, logging off the Internet and unplugging the computer.

"We should get ready," Kagome said quietly. _Did he almost kiss me?_ she thought, going slightly pink.

"Yeah…"

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

Gah, bad place to end. Oh well…yeah yeah yeah….

Inu-Yasha: Kagome isn't that good of a fighter

Kagome: (very red) and he's never kissed me!

Inu-Yasha: (also red) and I'm not going to!

Myriadragon: Uh, let's give them a little space… and **_R_**emember, **_E_**lephants **_V_**ery **_I_**ntelligently **_E_**xamine **_W_**indows!


	10. Switcheroo

**Disclaimer:** (asleep)…zzz…not…mine…zzz…

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **Male deer. Big strong swift ones (courtesy of my director (let's just call him Sir Richard DiCrazy, if you know him it should be painfully obvious) on my explanation tapes). Actually, they're not evil, just the amount of memorizing I have to do. And then Sir Richard goes on and on comparing Posthumus (my character from _Cymbeline)_ to Othello (_Othello)_ and Leontes (_The Winter's Tale)_. Well, I guess they are rather similar. But then he went into this weird thing that either Iago (_Othello_) or Hamlet (if you don't know which one he's from I hereby declare you a literary outcast) said about sex and animals—specifically monkeys and goats. Now, be honest, what do you think of when you hear monkeys and goats? Do you think about sex? I personally think about a petting zoo…I will give Richard one thing though, he does wonders for my drawing. You should see the one I did of Puck…he is HOT, if I do say so myself.

NONONONONONONO: oh I give up. See, I did post! Now you have to scan in my pics!

**myinuyasha04: **yeah, I think the relationship's moving a little too fast, but I really can't help it! If you read _Ten Thousand Shades Of Yellow_ (my next project), it should move slower...after all they absolutely hate each other in the beginning and she's stuck in a machine...yeah...so...anyway, thanx for reviewing and glad you liked it!

Vixenme: glad you liked ch. 5

Me: I noticed you were only on ch. 2, but when you get here, thanx!

**Vixen-s.m.f:** don't worry, the plot llama has bitten me too many times for me to stop writing!

Er, ANYWAY, on with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 10: Switcheroo_

"This is the one."

Inu-Yasha nodded in acknowledgement and pulled into the driveway of a small white house with red trim. Kagome opened her door and slid out of the car, seeming startled when he followed her.

"I'm still responsible for you until I hand you over to Sango and Miroku."

Kagome rang the doorbell (A/N yeah it's her house but maybe Sango changed the locks or something) and raised an eyebrow. "I hardly think I'm going to be attacked in my own driveway."

"It's happened before," he said tersely.

_He's been so tense since K called,_ Kagome thought. _I guess that's his way of showing he's unhappy._ This speculation faded into the oppressive silence.

Several minutes passed and Sango didn't answer the door. Kagome stared at her shoes, wishing for something to say to break the awkwardness between them. Suddenly she could stand it no longer and with an Inu-Yasha-like growl threw her arms around his neck.

Inu-Yasha took a startled step back. Not wanting to ask her why he snaked his arms around her waist and buried his face in her shoulder. He pressed her close against him, trying to find the right words. It should be so _easy_, it should be so _simple_—

"Sorry sorry sorry!" cried Sango, yanking open the door. "I was in the shower, and then I had to punish the monk—Oh. Sorry," she said again, finally noticing the crimson hanyou and his fuchsia charge.

"It's all right," Kagome said, pulling away from Inu-Yasha. "What's this about punishing Miroku?"

Sango turned to glare at the man standing behind her in the doorway. "_Somebody_ couldn't handle the sight of me in a towel."

Miroku grinned sheepishly. "But Sango, you're just so—"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence."

That brought a laugh out of everyone but Inu-Yasha. "You two keep her safe," he said seriously.

Miroku opened his mouth to protest the insult to his skills as a spy, but Sango caught his hand and he thought better of it. "Er…don't worry, Inu-Kun, we will."

Inu-Yasha nodded and, with a last glance to Kagome that said so much to Miroku and Sango, got back in his car and drove away.

Sango closed the door and turned to the forlorn Kagome. "You all right?" The author nodded, but Sango wasn't so sure. "You look like you need a hug. I know I'm no Inu-Yasha, but—"

"Hey!" Kagome protested feebly, turning slightly pink again. She smiled sheepishly. "Although you _do_ have a point. I think I'll just go to bed. I'm very tired." She went upstairs.

"Oh, dear," said Sango quietly after she left. "I do hope she isn't going to be like this all week. Kagome isn't the moping type, but still…"

"She'll get over it," Miroku said knowledgeably, leaning closer.

Sango caught his hand en route to one of her less public regions. "Now the towel I somewhat understand, but couldn't you at least handle a bathrobe?"

He smiled disarmingly. "I couldn't handle you in a snowsuit."

Sango wasn't sure whether she should be flattered or disgusted. "Yes, well, we have a job to do, and I expect you to concentrate on it and not on me."

"I shall try," Miroku said valiantly. He mad it sound as though it would be very difficult—which, knowing him, it probably would.

Sango rolled her eyes. "All right, hentai, you guard Kagome while I get dressed. And no touching!" she called after him.

"Aww…"

'' '' '' '' ''

As Inu-Yasha drove home all he could think was _Shit! Why did Sango have to inturrupt us!? I wanted a make-out session! Damn it! Now I am going to have to resort to a make-out session with Serge!_

Actually, no. But my BFF is evil and she stole my notebook. Serge is the fictional gay lover of a boy in our cast at YSP.

I am not evil I am mad! And if I don't get a chapter by Thurs 1:00 There will be pain, lots of pain. On to the story

Inu-Yasha feeling scared of Serge, turned the car around and drove back to Kagome's house. He parked his car and rang the doorbell. Sango and Miroku answered the door together with crooked clothes and ragged breath. Miroku was wearing lipstick in a color that really didn't suit him. Inu-Yasha suppressed a laugh and pushed through them into the house.

And there she goes again. I believe I shall leave the mechanical errors in there in retribution. I would also like to take this moment to inform one 'Alessio' of my BFF's longstanding crush on him.

I hate Myriadragon and would like to say in my own defence: If She Would Write I Wouldn't Have To!

Iza-Kahuza, if you would be patient then I would. If you feel such a need to write, why not work on your own story? You're killing me with the whole Lira/Olis thing. AND IF SHE ENDS UP WITH KERNOK I WILL KILL YOU.

'' '' '' '' ''

ANYWAY, back to our irritable hanyou.

A few blocks away from Kagome- and Sango's house he realized he was growling. This only caused him to growl louder in annoyance. With a sigh he flicked on the radio in attempt to drown out his unsettled thoughts.

I will go down with this shame 

**_And I won't put my hands up and surrender_**

**_There will be no white flag above my door_**

**_I'm in love and always—_**

****

Inu-Yasha growled again and switched stations.

I 

**_Hate_**

**_Everything about you_**

**_Why _**

**_Do I_**

**_Love you?_**

****

click

I'm here without you baby 

**_But you're still on my lonely mind _**

**_I think—_**

****

click

**_…I guess I need you baby—_**

****

click

A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut 

**_Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut_**

**_A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut_**

**_Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut_**

**_MacDonald's, MacDonald's_**

**_Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut_**

****

Inu-Yasha let out a bark of laughter. _Depressing love, depressing love, depressing love, depressing love, and fast food. What has the world come to?_ He pulled into the lot behind his apartment building.

_This is stupid,_ he thought as he climbed the stairs. _You only spent a month with her and you think you're in love! You're a hanyou—demons don't fall in love. Just because she didn't reject you—Stop acting like a lovesick puppy!_

He growled irritable (again…) and told his voices in his head to SHUT UP. They did, with a parting _'You're stupid'._

Inu-Yasha dug in his pocket and found his key. He entered his home and flopped down on the couch. _All right, so I'm being stupid. Then why do I feel so…_

'' '' '' '' ''

A few hours later Sango entered Kagome's room to find not a sleeping woman and a watchful man, as she had expected, but rather a watchful woman and a sleeping man.

"Kagome! I thought you'd be asleep," she said, kicking Miroku.

"I couldn't sleep," Kagome replied, laughing softly as the 'monk' woke with a "Hn?"

"If you're going to sleep, go to my room. I'll stay here with Kagome," Sango said, rolling he eyes. Once he left, she continued, "I don't really like the idea of him being in my room, but what can we do? One of us has to stay with you in here and the other gets the other bedroom."

"And nobody wants me to share a bed with Miroku."

"I should hope not. But anyway, it looks like we'll be rooming together for a while," Sango said, climbing into bed. "So why can't you sleep?"

"I—it's nothing," Kagome said, though her face clearly said it was more than nothing.

"Ooohh," Sango said, drawing the word out knowingly. "This is about Inu-Yasha."

"Well…"

"Come on, Kame, you can tell me."

"Yeah, but it just sounds so…stupid," Kagome protested.

"More stupid then letting the monk see you in a towel?"

"Well, no," Kagome admitted with a laugh. "All right, I'll tell you. When we were at the Ranch…well, you know there's only one bed…"

Sango raised her eyebrows. "And?"

"Well, so we shared it. And I…I guess I just got used to knowing he was next to me. He used to fall asleep with his arms around me, and I just felt so…safe. Not that I don't feel safe with you and Miroku," she said hurriedly.

"It's just not the same," Sango finished.

"Yeah…"

"I know what you mean," Sango said without thinking.

"You—what? You mean you and Mir—"

"I think we should go to sleep now," Sango said quickly.

'' '' '' '' ''

"Boss."

Nothing.

"Boss!"

"What?" he said dangerously. "Haven't I told you not to disturb me?"

"Sorry, boss," Kouga said quietly. Inwardly he cursed himself for being so stupid. Naraku had a legendary temper. "Yura's found her."

Naraku sat up in his chair. "She has? Finally! Now we're getting somewhere! Where is she?"

"She has returned to her home—657 Knicke—"

"You fool, I know where she lives. How soon can we capture her?"

"Well…we can't do a thing until she leaves the house. The walls are saturated with the miko energy she's been unconsciously emitting for years. We wouldn't stand a chance."

Naraku frowned—an expression that did not bode well for the wolf demon in front of him.

"But, sir, we do have this!" he said quickly, handing Naraku a photograph.

The demon studied the picture. It showed a black-haired woman standing on the porch of a white house hugging a man with silver-white hair. "Sessshomaru? No, he's too short, and I can't see his ears…Inu-Yasha!" he said suddenly. "Well done, Kouga! Set up a watch around the hanyou's house. She's bound to visit him someday, and that's when we'll spring our trap!"

"It shall be done, sir," Kouga said, bowing and leaving.

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

dun dun DUN. Well, that didn't quite go right. I didn't mean to make Inu-Yasha seem so lovesick, because that's way too introspective for our extrovert hanyou. Oh well…and Miroku flirts on --;

Sorry that my chapter rate has been slowing down, but I've go so much memorizing…and my aunt is coming this afternoon and then we're going to my grandmother's this weekend…so I will try to write but don't expect anything until at least Monday.

**Next Chapter:** K does dishes, I and M overhear an interesting conversation, and the trap is sprung

As always, **_R_**emember, **_E_**lephants _V_ery **_I_**ntelligently **_E_**xamine **_W_**indows.

The gods protect you, and bless the good remainders of your court. I am gone.

--_Cymbeline, I.i_

--Myriadragon


	11. Dishes, Discussion, and Despair

**_I AM OFFICIALLY OVER 20,000 WORDS!!_**

My goal is 40,000 but I don't think I'll make it…

This first scene I meant to put at the end of the last chapter but kinda forgot to…so here it is now!

**Disclaimer:** I unfortunately do not own the characters of Inu-Yasha. I do however own a noble if naive prince, fiery swordswoman, her sensible sister, a wise dragon king, a human king named Michealangeliofranzapi, an evil dragon prince, several arrogant cats, an evil demon, and other sundry creatures of the Mystic Realm

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **people who never update (like I should talk --;) like the person who did _Once in a Leap Year_ (but she's worse than me, it's been months!)

**Tievel Turiel: **greetings, O thou of the evil laugh. Thanks for the heads-up on 'kun'. Hmm, will think about your slap idea (oh and I must confess I watch PR when I get a chance despite the fact that I'm in highschool --;). Yes, your abducted cat is adorable!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha: oh yay now I know your email. I am almost (emphasis on ALMOST) dissapointed in the lack of pervy comments. I did think the snowsuit was rather inspired. Maybe you don't have a crush on Alessio but our dear friend Bashful on the other hand…(like I should talk…)

**myinuyasha04: **yeah, Kouga's here. Glad you still like it!

**Tievel Turiel: **you again. Micky (Miki? Miky?) says it's Sergio but Will says it's Serge and since he _is_ Will's fictional gay lover we'll have to believe him. I wonder if any of us will ever even wear the polish again (I sez as I stare at my purple toenails…). Yes, the evil trap ensueth in this very chapter. Hmm, 44 cent books you say…And Meg wasn't here today so my notebook was safe, but thank you for the well wishes!

BlackDragonGirl: glad you like my story so much! Er, ch. 10 was supposed to be angsty…hopefully you were laughing at my BFF's antics and Miroku's pervertedness and not Inu-Yasha- and Kagome's troubles!

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 11: Dishes, Discussion, and Despair_

"Boomerang bone—oh, not again." Sango sighed and hurried over to where Kagome lay. "Kame, how many times do we have to do this before you can stay on your feet?"

"I'm _sorry_," Kagome grumbled, sitting up. "My powers are made to fight demons, not giant boomerangs. Besides, Sango, that thing weighs more than I do.

"I _am_ sorry. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, I survived worse with Inu-Yasha. Oh…have you heard from him today?"

Sango suppressed a sigh; Kagome asked this question daily. "No, Kame, not yet. He's probably been too busy working."

"I thought Miroku said Mr. Tenant took him off duty."

_Damn monk._ "Well…"

"Does he just mope around his house all day, or what?" Kagome said, dragging Sango's boomerang inside. "I bet he's lonely."

"Well, he's a loner normally, so maybe not…" Sango had a bad feeling about where this was going.

"But it's been over a week…maybe we should go check on him?"

Sango sighed. She'd been right. "Kame, I know you miss him, but it's safer—"

"So what? You can't keep me locked away forever—I can't live like that!"

"You're not strong enough—"

"But if I'm with you and Miroku and Inu-Yasha—"

"No, Kagome, you have to stay hidden until Naraku is defeated!"

"And you can't defeat him without my help!"

"I just—Kame, it really isn't a good idea."

"What's not a good idea?" asked several brown paper bags, coming into the kitchen.

"Kagome wants to visit Inu-Yasha," Sango said. She seized several of the bags, revealing Miroku's curious face behind them.

"And this is a bad idea…why, exactly?"

"Because it's not safe!" Sango exploded.

Miroku sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Kagome, give us a minute?" She nodded and left.

"Why are you taking her side on this?" Sango demanded. "You know it's dangerous for her to leave the house! " She began shelving groceries with a bit more force than necessary.

"She's going to have to go out there sometime."

"But not now! She's not ready!" She seized a pair of soup cans and tried to shove them into the cupboard, but Miroku caught her wrists. Sango fought him, but he held on and eventually she stopped.

"Look, Sango, I know you're worried about Kagome—we both are. But this is about Inu-Yasha. If I know him, he won't be taking this well. Not being away from Kagome—he'll probably just tell himself he never loved her at all. But this business about not being able to work…his job is practically the only thing Inu-kun has. I think Kagome could help him. It would be good for them both."

"Yeah," Sango said, defeated. She leaned closer to him and rested her forehead against his chest. Miroku released her wrists and removed the cans of soup, placing them on the counter and lowering his hands. He felt Sango smile into him as she caught his hands and redirected them to her waist. "Why do you have to be right?" she moaned.

"'Cause I'm me," Miroku said with a smile. He pulled her hips against his, felt her stiffen, and sighed. "We'll go tomorrow," he said, releasing her.

'' '' '' '' ''

_bzzt._

Inu-Yasha growled. Who on earth would be coming to visit him? He rolled out of bed and stomped to the door. His spy's caution won out over impatience and (instead out of yanking open the door and growling loudly) peered through the spy hole.

Standing in the hall, distorted by the small lens he was looking through, was _Kagome_.

Inu-Yasha turned around and leaded his back against the door, heart pounding. _What is she doing here?_

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome called, her voice muffled by the door. "Can I come in?"

"Come on, Inu-kun, open the door."

So Miroku was with her. Which meant—

"Inu-Yasha?" came Sango's voice.

_The gang's all here_, he thought dryly, undoing the safety chain and opening the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Coming to see you, genius," Kagome retorted. She raised an eyebrow. "And it looks like it's a good thing we did. You know, when most people loose their job they go out and find another one, not spend a week moping around the house.

"I haven't _lost_ my job…exactly. And I have _not_ been moping!"

"Sure you haven't," Kagome said absently. "Miroku get him showered and into clothes" (A/N not he's not naked, just in boxers and a T-shirt (pajamas)) "while Sango and I start cleaning."

"Aye aye, cap'n." Miroku saluted and dragged a feebly protesting Inu-Yasha out of the main room.

After Miroku got him in the shower, Inu-Yasha unsuccessfully fought a smile. _The one person I tell myself I _don't _want to see, she shows up and I'm grinning like an idiot. She's got the force of an army general hidden in that slender frame of hers._ His smile widened to a grin as he remembered her, in a blue batik skirt wrapped twice around her hips and tied at the waist and a dark sweatshirt thrown on to guard against the curmudgeonly Wisconsin weather, issuing orders as though his house was hers. _She's right, though, I have been moping_. He stepped out of the shower and was assaulted by a fevered monk with what looked like most of Inu-Yasha's wardrobe as ammunition.

'' '' '' '' ''

"Men are slobs," Sango decided as they were washing dishes.

"And this is new to you?" Kagome said dryly. "Honestly, considering how much of you time is spent around Miroku and Inu-Yasha, I'd think you'd be used to it."

Sango laughed. "No, it isn't new to me. I just never knew it could get this bad…"

'' '' '' '' ''

"Hold up," said Miroku, stopping Inu-Yasha in the hall connecting to the bedroom and bathroom with the main livings space/kitchen.

"What?" Inu-Yasha protested, trying to push past Miroku's restraining hand.

"Shh…girl talk," he whispered, nodding in the direction of the kitchen. "Listen." (A/N bad boy, you shouldn't be eavesdropping! Oh wait, I need you to eavesdrop to move the story ahead…never mind, carry on!)

"…This bad. Miroku's house isn't this messy," Sango's voice drifted out of the kitchen.

"Oh, you've been to his house…" Kagome said teasingly.

"I—What—It was work!" Sango spluttered.

Kagome laughed. "Riiiiiiiight, Sango. I don't know who you think you're kidding. It's obvious you're in love with him."

"I…it doesn't matter if I am or not. He's not in love with me," she said quietly.

"You're blind if you think that," Kagome replied. "It's obvious he's head over heels for you."

Sango laughed hollowly. "Are we talking about the same person? That letch—"

"He's not like that and you know it," Kagome said, sounding exasperated. "_You_ are the only one he touches. _You._ Not me, not the women he meets in the street, but _you._ He comes to _you_ for the comfort of physical contact."

"You really think so?"

"Trust me, Sango, he loves you as much as you love him."

"She…loves me?" Miroku whispered. Inu-Yasha started to laugh at his expression but was cut off by Sango's voice.

"And what of you and Inu-Yasha?"

"I—I don't—"

"Come on, I talked, now it's your turn."

"Well…I don't know. It's confusing." Kagome sighed.

"How so?"

"Well…I like him. I like him a lot. But I've only really known him for a month—is that long enough to be in love?"

"But the ward-bond sped things up a bit, didn't it?"

"I guess…I don't know, I think I just got used to living with him, so when he's not around…I'm lonely."

"I think he probably feels the same way," Sango put in.

"But why? What does he see in me? If he were human, then I could see it, but he's not. He's part _demon_—what could a human ever do for him?"

"Love doesn't make sense," Sango said sensibly, "or else the monk would have another thing coming. So what are we going to make lunch?"

As the girls' talk turned to the contents of Inu-Yasha's refrigerator, Miroku turned to his companion. He seemed to be in shock.

"Hello, Inu-Yasha? Earth to hanyou, do you read me?" When he didn't reply Miroku sighed and towed him into the bedroom. "Sit and breath," he ordered. Inu-Yasha dumbly complied.

_What's up with him?_ Miroku wondered. _Unless…_ "Hey Sango, can I talk to you for a second?" he called, coming into the kitchen.

"Sure…Are you okay in here?" Sango asked Kagome.

"Yeah, I have lunch under control. Go on," she replied, giving Sango a look to remind her over their talk.

Miroku lead her to the hall. "We have a problem.

Sango's eyebrows drew together. "Oh?"

"Inu-Yasha. We…uh…we sort of overheard you two talking…" he trailed off, very red (A/N overheard my llama. You were eavesdropping and you know it).

"Oh!" said Sango, going red as well.

"Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"So…you heard…"

"Yeah…Er, but about Inu-Yasha…well, he's sort of in shock."

"In shock? He's as clueless as Kagome!"

"Or us," he said quietly, making her blush again. "But Mr. Tenant doesn't trust him, and I think if he finds out she's been to see him, he'll forbid Inu-Yasha from seeing her."

"Leaving him to go bonkers trying to figure out his feelings," Sango finished.

"Exactly—what was that?" Miroku said. He and Sango ran for the kitchen.

"Oh no…" she breathed. The curtains (obviously the landlord's idea and not Inu-Yasha's) fluttered ominously in the open window. A pile of sandwiches lay unattended on the counter.

"Sango, Miroku, what's going on? I heard—" Inu-Yasha stopped, coming into the kitchen and seeing for himself. "No…"

'' '' '' '' ''

The phone in Naraku's office rang. He pushed himself away from his computer with a scowl and picked up the receiver. "What?" he snapped.

"Boss. We have her."

Naraku's visage (fun word!) morphed into a rare smile. "Excellent…"

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

**Myriadragon:** Wahaha! [dances madly around in the Falstaff fat suit from _Henry IV, pt. I _and _II_] cliffy cliffy cliffy! [Puck, Ariel, and several tech sprites _pop_ into view, then _pop_ author into Thisbe drag from _A Midsummer Night's Dream_] cliffy cliffy cliffy! [_pop_. Fool's coxcomb from _King Lear_] cliffy cliffy cliffy! [_pop_. Ftatatita wig from _Caesar and Cleopatra_] cliffy cliffy cliffy! [_pop._ Those awful upholstery bloomers I had to wear in both _King Lear_ and _Romeo and Juliet_] cliffy cliff—Hey! [turns to assorted faeries] You know I hate these things!

**Puck:** You've had your fun. Now stop being cruel.

**Myriadragon:** [grumbles] This coming from _the_ most mischievous faerie in history…

**Ariel:** Hey, he's one of the Fae. He's allowed to be like that.

**Sundry Tech Sprites:** And you are but a mortal, nyah!

**Myriadragon:** Damn faeries…

—I have actually worn all of those costumes, excluding the Ftatatita wig and the Thisbe drag—

Only in Wisconsin can it be sweltering the week of finals and then a month later, well into summer, be freezing and rainy

Yay, I updated before I said I would (This is a chapter I have been looking forward to for a long time, so it was easy to write. That and I didn't get onstage at rehearsal today so I had plenty of time for writing)! You won't get another chapter before Mon…sorry! I will not have access to a CPU!

**Next Chapter:** Naraku is evil, Inu-Yasha paces, and some long-awaited fluff

Now children, **_R_**emember, **_E_**lephants **_V_**ery **_I_**ntelligently **_E_**xamine **_W_**indows.

Sayonara!

--**Myriadragon**


	12. What We're Trying to Say

**Myriadragon: **[dodges cyberfruit from angry readers] WAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SORRY!!!!!! Really I am!!!!!! Just stop it!!!!!!!!! [is hit in the face with a large cyberapple] Ow…Who threw that? I can't write if I'm out cold! [stares around at amassed readers, then notices a pair of golden dragonfly wings behind **Kokuei**'s shoulder] Damn you, Puck! Get your sorry fae behind out here!

**Puck: **[sheepishly flittering over to author] Sorry…

**Myriadragon: **No you're not

**Puck: **[thinks] No, I'm not

**Myriadragon: **[to readers] Why do I keep him around again?

**Readers: **BECAUSE HE IS YOUR MUSE!!!! AND WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, SO GET ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY!!!!!

**Myriadragon: **Sorry…and actually he's not exactly MY muse. **Emania** (wonderful author, you should all read _Breaking the Habit_) has a prior claim to him. I don't want anyone to think I'm a Muse thief! But technically Puck is a species, not an individual, so who says there can't be two of him? And _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ is done so many times that many Faeries have played Puck…besides, he's famous, and people tend to name their children after famous people, so there's probably a lot of Pucks running around Heartwood (which is where MY Puck comes from. It's a big old oak tree.) Oh and he's not my only muse. There's Archie, the communal Plot Llama (I share him with **Celia Telphanra **and my BFF), and Ariel (_The Tempest_) (Incidentally, he is NOT from Heartwood, as he's not an Earth Faerie. He's an Air Faerie, and thus from…ahh, I dunno. Someone help me name the place), as well as the Sundry Tech Sprites (from YSP's production of _The Tempest_).

**Readers: **Do we look like we care? Get on with the story already!!!!

**Ariel: **[Bows floridly (fun word!) while hovering over author's shoulder] Apologies, frequenters of FanFiction.Net

**Archie: **[attempts to dive at author]

**Myriadragon: **[dodging flying Plot Llama] NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! You've given me too many ideas already!!! Hold off until I finish DOD! And 10Y! And TAM! And RR! And EdC! And—

Oh dear I've forgotten about the story again. I am so sorry my dear wonderful readers! [Curtseys] I left you on an evil evil evil cliffy! But I had memorizing and rehearsal and we had to clean out my grandfather's office (he died about a year ago) and Ooie wouldn't let me on the CPU and I had dress rehearsal and a performance and still rehearsals and memorizing and we were in Toledo (Ohio) and…

**Disclaimer: **NO. (there, I made it short, so we could get on with the story. Aren't you happy? Ahh! Not the cyberfruit!)

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **Me, obviously. But also Inu-Yasha/Yu Yu Hakusho crossovers (waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many of the darn things), and my CPU, and Ooie, and…

Review responses at the end, I know you all want to get on with it!

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon  
**_Chapter 12: What We're Trying to Say_

"Let's go," Miroku said quickly, pulling Sango and Inu-Yasha to the door.

"Miroku, wha—"

"Call Kirara," he ordered once they were out on the sidewalk.

Sango frowned but whistled anyway. "All right, she's coming. What do we do now, _sir_?" she spat.

Miroku sighed. "Don't be like that. We need to get out of here, _now_, before he goes demon." He nodded at Inu-Yasha, whose eyes had already begun to orange around his pupils. They would soon turn to crimson. "If we don't get him to K soon, if she doesn't calm him down—"

"We'll have a big problem," Sango finished, nodding. "You're right."

"We just have to keep an eye on him until Kirara comes," Miroku said, watching Inu-Yasha's fevered pacing along the sidewalk. "Hey…about…about what you said before…"

"Kirara's here," Sango said quickly, turning away so he wouldn't see her blush.

Miroku saw it anyway but made no comment. He tugged the distracted hanyou to Kirara, then clambered up to sit astride the fire cat, behind Sango. He put an arm around her waist (more to help him stay on than anything else) and she jumped. _Oh boy…_ Miroku thought with a sigh. He put his other arm around her waist and she jumped again. "We need to talk," he whispered.

"Not now," she replied, concentrating very hard on directing Kirara southward.

"You're blushing."

"And why do you think that is?" she snapped.

"All right, I'll drop it…for now."

'' '' '' '' ''

"K! K! Get your ancient behind out here, damnit!" Miroku cried, seizing Inu-Yasha's arm. "Sango, get his other side. Damnit, K, get out here!"

"What be the—Step away from him," Kaede commanded, coming out onto the pier (A/N they're back in Chicago). Miroku and Sango stepped back hastily.

"You've gone far into the madness this time, Inu-kun," she said calmly, taking his head between her hands. He snarled and lunged at her, but K, with more strength than she seemed to possess, held him off. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Now now, Agent Enkou, that wasn't very nice. Let me see your eyes…Mm, almost fully red. They'll be a splendid shade of crimson before long." She closed her eyes and thought the incantation. Her lips moved, tracing the words in the air between them, but no sound came out. White light shone from between her palms and Inu-Yasha's face. He snarled again, trying to flee her power, but she held him fast. Slowly his eyes faded through orange back to amber, and the purple (A/N red? Can't remember…) stripes faded from his cheeks. The muscles of his face relaxed and he blinked. ([winces] man that's a long paragraph…)

"K…?" he said uncertainly. "What…"

"Ye were turning full demon."

"You had us worried for a moment there, Inu-kun," Miroku said, coming up with Sango at his side.

"What about Kagome?" Inu-Yasha asked. "We have to find her! We need to—"

"Calm down," K said sharply. "Sango, Miroku, take him inside. 'Tis almost nightfall—I'll not have you out tonight. Tomorrow we'll form a plan."

'' '' '' '' ''

"Inu-Yasha, stop pacing," Sango demanded. "You're giving me a headache."

"Well then let's go!" he snapped. "I can't stand all this waiting!" He began to pace again.

"Oh for the love of—Why do I even bother?" Sango cried, throwing up her hands in disgust.

"Because you're persistent, my dear," Miroku said, coming up behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist.

Sango jumped and pulled away. He shrugged. "Here's your tea," he said, handing a mug to K, who didn't fail to notice the disappointed look he wore.

She sighed. "All of you, calm down. We're not getting anything useful done."

They had woken the morning after Kagome was taken to bright skies and warm sun. Confident the weather would hold, they spent the day planning and running a computer search—aided by Kaede- and Inu-Yasha's miko and demon powers, of course—to find Kagome. Towards sunset they finally had a hit, in a port town in Door County ([hands around maps]). Leaving the computer to do a more detailed search overnight, the four went to bed sure they would be able to leave in the morning.

Nature, however, had other ideas. Actually, I suspect Puck had a hand in it. He and Ariel were determined to have Kagome hanging by her wrists for at least 48 hours, so I think Puck went to Her and asked for some assistance. Then again, maybe She was just mad at Wisconsin.

Whatever the reason, they were stuck. No less than seven tornadoes had descended upon Wisconsin, leaving them stranded in Illinois. (I'm not entirely making this up. About two weeks ago we _did_ get seven tornadoes. But they only lasted for a few minutes each, not the whole day (they were small tornadoes). And then there was the earthquake…er, back to the story.)

So they were spending the day being snippy together in the briefing room (if you watch _Stargate_ it's a bit like that). Inu-Yasha, being both the most worried and the one with the shortest fuse, alternated between pacing and arguing with Shippo, their techie. Miroku spent his time trying to talk to Sango. Her nervousness seemed to have magnified tenfold, for she was doing every possible chore imaginable in an attempt to avoid him. K was seated at the long table trying (unsuccessfully) not to develop a headache.

"Look, I know ye all be worried about Kagome," she continued (from waaaaaayy back four paragraphs ago). "But this is getting us nowhere. Shippo and I will continue to search for Kagome. Sango, Miroku, get the gear together. Inu-Yasha…go work out. I have a feeling if you don't punch something soon, you'll explode."

'' '' '' '' ''

"How goes it?" asked K, coming into the room where Sango and Miroku were working.

"I think we have everything, except—Miroku, what is this? I can't read your handwriting," Sango said, peering at a piece of paper. "Wei shei?" she guessed.

"What—oh, that," he said, coming to stand behind her chair and reading over her shoulder. "'Well spell'…except I've forgotten what that is."

Sango turned to look at him. "You are an idiot."

"But of course, Sango dear," he said with a grin. "That's why you keep me around," he added in mock seriousness, ducking his head to press his nose against hers.

Sango, of course, turned red and moved away as Miroku and Kaede sighed.

"I, fortunately, remember what a well spell is, and I'll go prepare one," K said. "But this is getting ridiculous, ye two." She winced as a loud _thud_ came from the next room, where Inu-Yasha was sharing his tension with the gym equipment. "I'd better go see what he's broken…fortunately the weather has cleared up, so the three of ye can leave soon."

Sango made for the door, but Kaede caught her, "No. Ye two need to work this out, _now_. We can't have ye distracted on this mission. I'll go see to Inu-Yasha, and when the two of ye come out of this room I expect this to be resolved."

"She makes it seem like such a big deal," said Sango, fiddling with something on the work counter.

"I thought it _was_ a big deal," said Miroku, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't think so," she replied, moving to fiddle with something else several feet away.

Miroku let out an exasperated sigh. "Sango, _stop it_!" he exploded. "Look, I'm _sorry_, all right? I was eavesdropping and I shouldn't have been. But that doesn't change what I heard, and I'd like some answers."

"I _know_. I—it's just so…hard," she said weakly.

"Then let me try." He pulled her around to face him and kissed her gently. Sango relaxed and closed her eyes, shivering with delight as he ran his hands along her arms.

"Now I could be wrong," he said a little shakily, pulling back, "but I think that's what we're trying to say."

"Why does it have to be so hard?" she asked, burying her face in his chest.

"I guess the harder it is the more worthwhile it is," he replied into her hair. Sango let him kiss her again, but couldn't find the courage to kiss him back.

"Damnit Sango, are you going to kiss me or no? I thought you wanted me to do this. Or am I completely misreading the signs?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all!" Sango cried. It's just—rrgh!" she growled, burying her face in his chest again. _He's trembling…_she thought. "You're shaking." Her voice was distant, oddly calm.

"I'm a little nervous," he replied in a similar tone, as though he was commenting about the weather.

They stood like that for several minutes, leaning against each other but not speaking, neither having the courage to break the awkward silence. In fact, it seemed they would be stuck like that forever until Inu-Yasha called.

"Hey, you two, hurry it up," he shouted from the briefing room.

"Please, before he kills me!" came another, smaller voice they recognized as Shippo.

"We should go…" Miroku said, pulling away.

_Damn, damn, and double damn._ Sango caught his wrist and pulled him into a fierce kiss.

When they broke for air (funny how you never seem to have a large enough supply…not that I would know…sniff…=P) Miroku gaped at her. "Sango…"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, monk, before we have a kitsune corpse on our hands," she said, pulling him out the door

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

**Myriadragon:** [to STS] [whispers] quick, while they're distracted by the fluffy…get the fruit! All of it!

Hee hee hee…

Well, anyway, there you go. My first major fluff scene…I've had it planned for about a month, but I don't think it's good enough. Feh, if you all like it I guess it'll do.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got expanded cable so I can now watch Inu-Yasha (I've been reading the manga)! If somebody could tell me when it's on (and your time zone so I can convert to CST), I would be forever in your debt!

**I OWE AN APOLOGY TO PRINCESSKITTY, THE AUTHOR OF _ONCE IN A LEAP YEAR_. SHE HAS POSTED NOW, SO, GOMEN!**

**Kokuei: **Well, I did miss you for ch. 9, but you're forgiven =D. Yes, the world is evil, as am I…but hopefully the fluff this chappie has decreased my evilness. More to come! Oh and in your last review you put the url of a jap/eng dictionary, muchos gracias (many thanks), it is very useful!

**Jojodacrow: **O.O wow, five reviews in a row! I officially love you. I'm glad you have enjoyed my insanity thus far, and hope the fluff was to your liking? Thank you for the many compliments!

**Myinuyasha04: **NOOOOOOOO!!!!! You can't kill Koga yet, I need him in ch. 13!!!!!!!!!!--!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah well, I guess Ariel's evil plans for his OOCness will never be fufilled…oh wait, he's still breathing. Good. And yes, he is a rather cuddly monk, isn't he? Much cuddling in this chapter…muahaha…

Inuyashas girl: Er, here is your more. But Inu and Kag get to stay apart for one more chapter before…muahaha

**Inuchick06: **glad you like it, sorry about the cliffie. But you know I just _had_ to do it…and yes, I did have a happy Bday, thank you for your well wishes!

Lalalalalalala: Oh dear lord and lady preserve us…YOU ARE A HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PERV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And you have no idea how to spell kiss…hey, **how many Mulvihills does it take to wire a lightbulb?**

**Tieve Turiel: **no, Micki (that's how you spell it!) didn't invent him. And as to your semi-new philosophy…but of course. Fate absolutely ADORES irony. Sounds similar to Murphy's Law. Actually, I thought of Naraku in a suit as opposed to a baboon…but you have given me ideas…muahaha…And Trouble doesn't need to bother himself with the faeries, they actually are quite useful (just don't tell them or their egos will be too big to fit through the door…)

**Next Chapter: **Koga is horribly OOC, and the author discusses a character she knows nothing about --;; (this is written, so look for it tomorrow or Thurs!)

Love, friends, and Ramen,

--Myriadragon


	13. Captive

Well, ff.n is being evil, so no one can review! I did get four reviews though…plus I posted at a bad time. Ah well, this chappie is no good anyway, so I may as well post it. On a lighter note, I AM SOOOOOOO EXITED!!!!!!!! Season 8 of _Stargate: SG1_ starts tomorrow (actually, I haven't seen season 7 (long story, don't ask) but who cares?)! And next Friday _Stargate: Atlantis_ starts (it's a spin-off)! And I have just discovered the wonderful world of _Stargate_ Sam/Jack fics!!!!

Okay I'll shut up now…but if any of you are _SG1_ fans let me know!

**Disclaimer: **who me? Hmm, let's see…nope, all I got is a few pics I downloaded off the net…and a whole lot of Ramen…

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **hmm….I got carpet burn, does that count? And I am soooooo behind on memorizing…

**Kokuei: **yes, very useful it be (I sound like Yoda…). Glad you like the chapter, this one is horrible (in my opinion, anyway) but the next one should be good!

**Jojodacrow: **erm, could you put my muse down please? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you love him, and you can hug him all you want, but…he's turning blue…and if he can't breath he can't help me write! They find Kagome soon, don't worry!

**_Fireworks! Fireworks! Happy music! Presenting…my 50th reviewer! [hands ribbon and certificate]_**

**Myinuyasha04: **well I don't…[avioding puppy dog eyes]…I don't know…technically he's not mine to give…but…ah, hell, I can't resist puppy dog eyes. Sure, you can have him when I'm done with him.

**Lady lilacks: **um, whoo! to you too? I take it that means you like it…oh yeah you're the author of _Prisoner of the Heart,_ right? So I'm assuming you enjoyed the fluff…update soon!!!!

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 13: Captive_

"Unn…" Kagome moaned as she regained consciousness. She lifted her head and opened her eyes. _Where…where am I?_ She tried to reach a hand to rub her sore head, but found she could not.

That small movement brought to her attention the dull, raw ache in her ankles and wrists. Kagome craned her head around and saw that she'd been shackled hand and foot, the heavy iron manacles glinting dully in the fluorescent lights. The bulbs ominously, sending shadows dancing from the small pile of crates in the otherwise empty warehouse. It was windowless, just a large box of concrete with steel doors at one end and metal walkways halfway up the walls defining the second floor. Her weight hung heavily by her sore wrists, while her hands dangled limply. The pressure of her weight on the manacles was cutting off her circulation slightly, tingeing her fingers purple.

_What on Earth…_she wondered. _Naraku must've…was that Koga with those men—no, _demons—_who grabbed me? I think it was…and to think I dated that bastard!_ She clenched her fists in annoyance and defiance, then winced as the pain in her wrists flared. Kagome sagged against the wall once more. _Oh, Inu-Yasha, I hope you find me soon…_

'' '' '' '' ''

Kagome opened her eyes again, though this time it was from uneasy slumber rather than unconsciousness. The warehouse was eerily silent. Kagome tried to call out, to say something, anything to penetrate the unnatural absence of sound, but found she could not. Her throat was dry and parched, and her lips cracked painfully when she ran her tongue over them. _Ow…Mom always said I didn't drink enough. I'm so dehydrated…how long have I been here anyway?_ The warehouse being without windows, she had no way of knowing if it was day or night.

_Great, Kame, just great,_ she berated herself. _You've gotten yourself in deep this time. Descendant of a priestess, guardian of a mystical jewel, protected by a hanyou and two spies, and yet you manage to blow it._

The worst part was she couldn't remember what had happened. _Miroku took Sango to talk to her, Inu-Yasha must've been getting dressed…I was making sandwiches…then what? I can't remember…damn! Did they knock me out? I guess they must have. But how did they get in? I should have—_

Her train of thought was broken as she heard voices. _Inu-Yasha? _Kagome thought hopefully. _But he wouldn't be talking…Is it Naraku?!_ She started to panic. _He's come for the Jewel! What am I going to do?_

A sliver of light, oddly yellow compared with the blue-white glow of the fluorescent lights, appeared at the far end of the warehouse. It grew and revealed the silhouettes of three figures in the doorway.

"Come on, hurry it up!" a voice snapped.

Kagome frowned. She knew that voice.

"Well, well, well," the man said, crossing the floor to stand before her. "Kagome Higurashi. How long has it been?"

'' '' '' '' ''

[dramatic pause]

'' '' '' '' ''

"Koga," Kagome said coldly, voice cracking slightly. To think she had ever dated the guy. Their relationship hadn't lasted long. Eri (the editor of _Feudal,_ a magazine she wrote for occasionally) had set them up, and they'd gone on several dates before she ended it. Something about him hadn't sat right with her, and he had the most annoying habit of calling her 'his woman.' When you added to that the fact that Sango, Miroku, and Inu-Yasha disliked him (the latter so much it was almost scary…=P), the relationship didn't seem promising.

"And so my woman returns to me," Koga said with a cold smile. "Perhaps not under the best of circumstances, but all things considered…" he trailed off.

Suddenly he kissed her, so hard it was almost vicious. Kagome fought him as best she could, shivering as his hands strayed to her body.

"Why you—" she broke off, coughing, as he pulled away.

He smirked. "Dear dear, Kagome, you seem a little parched. Thirsty?" he asked, taking a bowl from one of his underlings. "Or perhaps you'd like something to eat?" He took the bowl from the other.

She was thirsty, and hungry, horribly so, but Kagome wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. "Just take the Jewel and let me go," she retorted.

"My, you _are_ feisty." He sat at her feet, then his two underlings disappeared. "I think I'll keep you after all this is done. And I can't take the Jewel without killing you—and if you die, it will disappear. So for now, we're stuck with each other."

"Who are you?" Kagome asked.

He seemed generally surprised (as, I am sure, are you all). "What are you talking about, woman?"

"The Koga I knew would never do this. He was a monster, but he wasn't cruel. He wasn't like _you_."

"And how would you know what I'm like? You left me before—"

"Don't tell me you're still upset about that. I don't love you, Koga, and I never did. If you were honest with yourself, you'd see you never loved me. What about Ayame?" (A/N yeah I have no clue who she is. All of my knowledge of her comes from other fics. I'm only up to volume 17 of the manga and she hasn't shown up yet. But maybe now that I can watch the anime…)

"Shut up!" he snarled, slashing at her legs. "What do you know about me? I was a clan leader, I had you, I had everything! I didn't need her then, and I don't need her now!"

Kagome bit her lip at the pain of her bleeding legs. She was ashamed to find tears come to her eyes. But maybe she could use them to her advantage…

"You do love her!" she cried, letting the pain in her legs come through in her voice. Let him think she was heartsick, that would help her case. "You love her and she loves you! Or you did…but you've changed. Naraku has changed you."

She had him now, she knew it. He was genuinely shaken, and for a minute she'd seen the Koga part of her had like in his eyes.

But Naraku's mind games had affected him deeper than she'd thought. "You are mistaken," he said coolly, regaining his composure. "And I have had enough of you." With that he left.

_Damn…_ Kagome thought weakly, eyeing the bowls he'd left forgotten at her feet. _So close, but yet so far. Ayame, I hope you find him again._

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

Blargh. Everybody is horribly OOC. It's all Ariel's fault, I say [flicks Altoid at a red-haired faerie]. He's just mad because the picture I drew of him wasn't half so good as the one I did of Puck [said faerie sticks out his tongue and is promptly hit in the face with aforementioned Altoid]

Yeah, like I said, I don't really know much about Ayame. All I've got on her is red hair, pigtails, green eyes, wolf demon, often paired with Koga. Speaking of whom, I really don't know what got into him in this chapter—other than Ariel, of course.

It's fun having muses to blame things on.

This is a horribly short chappie.

RAMEN!!!!!!!!

--Myriadragon


	14. You Came For Me

Apparently I'm the only one who hated that last chapter. Honestly, I felt terrible about it, but you all were so positive…thank you, thank you, thank you! I really am my own worst critic…

**Disclaimer: **No tengo el Inu-Yasha. Tengo trés reglas morados, pero no tengo el Inu-Yasha. Es muy raro lo que enocontrar cuando estás limpiando tu cuarto… (I don't own Inu-Yasha. I own three purple rulers, but I don't own Inu-Yasha. It's very strange what you find while you're cleaning your room…)

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **The Sci-Fi channel doesn't have _Babylon 5_! I feel cheated! (But they DO have a lot of _Stargate_, so all is not lost)

**Myinuyasha04: **yeah, right about now I want to kill him too. And thank you for the ramen…I needed it…

**Tievel Turiel: **Darn Trubbie…and thank you for the time. Lucky lucky you are so far on your memorizing…sniff sniff

**Jojodacrow: **Thank you for letting him breathe…hmm, now that you mention it, I agree. The events are better in ch. 12, but the writing better in ch. 13. And I am sorry about Koga being so evil. I don't know what possessed my muses…don't worry, I'll make him semi sane (but it might be kinder not to as myinuyasha04 has dibs on killing him after the story ends…--;)

**Kokuei: **hmm…oh well, I'm going to use her anyway. Actually, I kinda like her, because Koga totally needs a girl…just not Kagome…

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 14: You Came For Me_

"All right, I think ye be ready to leave," K said. "Except—Shippo, where be the stethoscope?"

Sango blinked as the red-haired fox demon began frantically searching. "K, why do we need a stethoscope?"

"The well spell."

"That thing Miroku forgot?"

"Hey! I had a lot on my mind!"

"Yes, that. It's linked to the Pier. Once ye have Kagome, squeeze it and it will bring ye back here. It's spelled for four humans and a cat demon, so it will only work if all five of ye are together."

"Why a stethoscope?"

"Well, it was either that or a cue ball."

"All you had was a cue ball and a stethoscope?" Sango asked, disbelief written all over her face.

"Yes, actually…"

"Well, whatever. I'm glad we have it," said Miroku.

"Yes," Sango agreed, accepting the stethoscope from Shippo. "I don't suppose you made one to take us there? No, I guess you wouldn't have anything to link it to. All right, boyos, let's go."

'' '' '' '' ''

Flying high above southern Wisconsin, Sango smiled and leaned back against Miroku. "Hey monk."

"Mm?" he replied, tightening his hold around her waist.

"With everything that's been going on, I never got to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

Sango smiled lazily, eyes closed. "That I love you."

Miroku leaned around and kissed her, laughing into her lips as she yelped and squirmed. "I didn't think you had to _say_ anything," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hentai!" Sango muttered, and she slapped him, though not nearly so hard as usual.

"I didn't touch anything!" he protested.

"It's the thought that counts."

"You are entirely too disagreeable…" he grumbled. "But I love you anyway."

"Good. Now that we've got that established, would you two stop being so mushy?" grumbled a certain forgotten hanyou.

Sango and Miroku turned complementary shades of red. "Sorry, Inu-Yasha," Sango said, laughing a little nervously.

"Don't worry, you'll have your turn soon enough," Miroku added slyly.

"Miroku!" Sango protested, swatting at him again. "We still have to rescue her first!"

"And I would appreciate it if we could keep our minds on that and not on each other!" Inu-Yasha said emphatically.

Sango smiled sympathetically, leaning around Miroku to pat his shoulder. "Don't worry, Inu-Yasha, Kagome's a strong girl. She'll be fine."

"I hope so," he said gruffly, and for a moment his worry showed in his eyes. He shook his head and it was gone, replaced by his customary barrier. "Now stop flirting and steer the cat!"

"You don't _steer_ a _cat_," Sango argued, and, bickering amiably, the three spies and their 'steerable cat' made their way north to Door County.

'' '' '' '' ''

Once more Kagome opened her eyes from sleep. She had no idea how long she'd been asleep, but Koga had always been impatient, so if that part of him hadn't changed…

A sliver of light appeared at the other end of the warehouse, startling Kagome—Koga had turned the lights off as he left the day before, probably as punishment for reminding him of Ayame.

[Inu-Kag Make Out Scene NOW!!!!

Yeah, my BFF is back. Let's ignore her, shall we?]

Ayame was an artist at _Feudal,_ and they occasionally worked together on stories. Shortly after Kagome and Koga began dating, Kagome had discovered Ayame was Koga's ex. Ayame maintained that she had no problem with the relationship, but Kagome knew better. Each obviously harbored affection for the other still, and that had been another reason for her leaving Koga.

All of this chased through Kagome's head in the second it took for the door to open, and then the lights flickered on to reveal Koga crossing the warehouse floor to her. He skirted the lone pile of unsteady crates and reached her side faster than she would have thought possible.

"Ah, you're awake," he said pleasantly. "How was your rest, my dear?"

"I am no one's dear, least of all yours," Kagome said icily.

Koga tutted and shook his head. "You really should be more polite to those who hold your life in their hands."

Kagome winced. All the bravado in the world did her no good against that single, unchangeable fact. "Why are you keeping me here?" she asked wearily. "I'm of no use to you if you can't get the Jewel."

"Ah, but who said we couldn't get the Jewel? Simply because _I _cannot remove the Shikon no Tama, you assume no one can. But when you assume—"

"You make an ass out of u and me," she finished sadly. It was a favorite saying of his, and had been ever since she knew him. That was what was killing her about this—Koga seemed so different, yet he retained small pieces of his old self. _The darkness has been meshed so completely in him, _she thought with a writer's poetic image. _Can anyone purify it?_ Aloud she asked, "So if you can't remove it, who can?"

"I don't believe I shall tell you that. But don't you worry, he'll be here soon," he called cheerily as he left her.

_Oh, wonderful…What on Earth am I going to do? I can't use my powers_—she had tried already to remove her manacles, but they had obviously been designed with miko in mind, for she couldn't summon even the smallest bit of her magic—_and Inu-Yasha and the others will have been delayed by that storm from earlier. We never get storms that violent—I wonder what it was?_ (A/N [cough]tornadoes[cough])

'' '' '' '' ''

"All right, Kirara, down now," Sango whispered as they neared a dock studded with warehouses. The cat demon landed silently and waited for her charges to dismount before changing with a _poof_ back to her kitten form.

"K said she was in warehouse 383," Miroku said as Sango transferred the small yellow cat into her backpack. "So let's see…that's 389, so…"

"Thataway," said Sango, pointing. She crouched low to the ground and began to creep along the rows of concrete shoeboxes. "388…387…386…" she whispered as they passed each warehouse. "385…384…38—whoops," she said in surprise, pulling back into the shadows of building 384.

"Sango, what—?" Inu-Yasha began but she clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh…" she said, putting a finger to her lips. _Guards,_ she mouthed as an added explanation, jerking her head in the direction of warehouse 383.

He nodded his understanding and she removed her hand from his mouth. Miroku tapped her shoulder and handed her a small notebook and a pencil.

_Plan?_ She wrote, then gave the pad to Inu-Yasha.

He thought for a minute. _Kirara._

_?_

_Diversion. Change to large form._

_OK. _She gave Miroku back the notebook and retrieved a sleepy Kirara from her pack. She bent to whisper in the kitten's ear.

Kirara trotted off the way they had come, and several minutes later they heard shouts coming from building 389. The two wolf-demons guarding Kagome's prison ran off, presumably to help deal with the 'attack'.

They set off again, this time with Inu-Yasha in the lead. The trio reached the door unhindered, and to their surprise found the great iron door unlocked.

_Trap?_ Sango mouthed at Miroku. He shook his head 'no' and gestured to Inu-Yasha. The hanyou sniffed the air and apparently found nothing wrong, for he slipped into the warehouse. Miroku went in next, holding the door for Sango and then propping it slightly open with a stick so that Kirara could make her way back to them.

"Who's there?" called a hoarse voice. Inu-Yasha's ears pricked up as he recognized Kagome's gentle tones. He rushed to her side, eyes widening as he took in the sight of her.

Her wrists were chained above her head, and heavy manacles hung also from her ankles. Her skirt was torn, revealing the pair of shorts she wore underneath, as well as a pair of slashes that had loosely scabbed over. Her legs were caked with blood. She was dirty, and bruised, and had several small scratches on her face and neck.

"Inu-Yasha…" she whispered, and he lips bled as she spoke.

"Kagome…" He wanted to hold her, kiss her, touch her, assure himself this broken woman before him was real. But there was no time; soon Kirara would return, and with her Naraku's demons.

Shaking himself as from a daze, he carefully sliced through the chains binding her ankles. Then he reached up to her wrists, putting his free arm around her waist so she would not fall. Inu-Yasha cut first one, then the other, and caught Kagome as she flopped heavily against him. The tattered remains of her skirt fluttered to the ground as he shifted her weight so he could carry her in both arms.

"Where—" he began as Sango and Miroku joined them at the end of the building.

"Here," Sango cut him off, holding up an indignant Kirara with one hand. She raised the other, showing him the stethoscope. "Are we all ready?"

Inu-Yasha nodded and she squeezed the pad as hard as she could. White light flared—Kaede's miko power—until they couldn't see. Each felt a strange jolt in the pit of his or her stomach, and then they were moving, though at the same time it seemed as thought they were standing still.

Koga burst into the warehouse in time to see a flash of light and then nothing. Blinking stars from his eyes, trying his best to focus, he heard one of his men speak, echoing the question ringing in his mind.

"What in the hells…?"

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

Lalala…I have just been adding chapters left and right. Originally this was supposed to be 18—now it's looking like 21. But who knows where my manic muses will take this…

[sniff sniff] We were going to go to Chile this summer, but now we're not. It looks like now we'll be going to Seattle instead, and riding the Empire Builder (transcontinental train) back.

**Next Chapter: **let's just say I think you'll all enjoy it…muahaha…and it's already written so look for it tomorrow

¡Adiós!

—Myriadragon


	15. Fluff

The title says it all.

**Disclaimer: **huh-uh

**Evil Thing O' The Day: **WE NEED MORE TIME TO REHEARSE!! MORE TIME!! MORE TIME, I SAY!!

Late review: no, baka, K wouldn't kiss Inu. Darn you and your short reviews.

**Kokuei: **I hurried! I hurried! I do believe that's the shortest review I ever got…

Heho evil muses: I am NOT pervy. KOGA is pervy. Yay, O'Neill. Jam all the way! DIE, Pete, DIE! Thor!

**Animemistress419: **glad you liked it!

**Jojodacrow: **yeah, I know it was too easy. There actually IS a reason for that, which will be cleared up later…good luck finding a muse! I hear the Three Witches from _Macbeth_ are free…

**Torina Archelda: **ooh, pretty name…glad you like it, I'll be sure to check out your fics!

On with the insanity…

**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 15: Fluff_

When the light faded and the strange feeling of moving and not moving disappeared, our protagonists found themselves in the infirmary.

"That explains the stethoscope," Sango commented, dropping said object on the counter. "We'll go talk to K," she directed at Inu-Yasha who nodded absently as he set Kagome down on the examining table. "Come on, monk."

"Sango, wha—" Miroku protested as she led him from the room.

"Baka. They need some time alone, anyone can see it."

"They're not the only ones," he said, leaning over to kiss her.

"Mm…" Sango said. "But we _do_ need to talk to K." Miroku's face fell and she laughed. "All right, all right, I'll give you a rain check. Is that acceptable?"

"Perfect," he said, scooping her up into his arms.

"Ah! Put me down!" Sango half-laughed, half-shrieked.

"Why would I want to do that?" he asked. He bent his head down and kissed her passionately, grinning as she gasped in surprise.

_Damn him,_ she thought weakly. _We need to talk to K, he knows as well as I._ With a sigh she pushed Miroku away as best she could without him dropping her. "You are evil," Sango informed him.

He grinned wickedly. "Of course I am."

Sango sighed again. She loved his smiles—he really wasn't making this any easier for her. "Put me down or I'll set Kirara on you."

He did so with a disgruntled sigh. "I may be evil, but at least I'm not unfriendly."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" she kissed his cheek, slipping her hand through his. "You still have the rain check, remember?"

'' '' '' '' ''

(A/N ooh, Sango dear, you are asking for _trouble_…)

'' '' '' '' ''

Kagome moaned as Inu-Yasha set her on the table and tried to sit up.

"Shh…" Inu-Yasha said, placing his hands on her shoulders and gently forcing her back down. "Lie still and let me examine you."

She smiled wearily at him. "I'm sorry you have to see me so…pathetic. Truthfully, I'm a little embarrassed."

"Shh…" he said again, gently pressing his fingers to her face, her neck, her shoulders and arms, noting each bruise and cut. He gingerly probe the flesh around her breasts, and seemed relieved to move down to her belly (now Miroku, on the other hand, would've…erm, maybe I shouldn't say…). His soft examination continued over her hips and down her legs, which he carefully bathed and bandaged, then ended at her feet.

"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome began, sitting up.

"Stay still," he said, and gently but firmly pushed her down again. "You could have a concussion."

He was lying through his fangs and they both knew it, but Kagome didn't protest—especially when he cupped her cheek in his hand.

"You're beautiful," he said with a tender sort of half-smile, rubbing his thumb along her cheekbone. Her eyes closed and she hissed in pain, arching her back briefly. "Sorry…" he said sheepishly, brushing dust away from the bruise he hadn't noticed. "Sorry…" he said again, so quietly it might have been a thought.

"There ye be!" Inu-Yasha jumped and jerked away guiltily to face the woman in the doorway. "Are you all ri—oh…" K trailed off. "Sorry. Don't mind me, I'll just—"

"It's all right, Auntie," Kagome said with a slightly resigned smile.

Inu-Yasha blinked. "You never said she was your aunt!"

"Well, she's not exactly. She's either my fourteenth cousin twice removed, or my second cousin fourteen times removed. I can't remember which…"

"Anyway, it's easier to say 'Aunt'," Kaede finished. "And now I'll leave ye be." She left.

There was a very pregnant pause—Inu-Yasha seemed unable to look at her. Kagome frowned. "Inu-Yasha?"

"Kagome, what am I to you?" he said at last. He turned to face her, but would not meet her eyes.

Kagome was a little startled. _Is that what's bothering him? Well, then—_ She sat up, putting a hand to his cheek, and pressed her lips to his.

For a moment Inu-Yasha was too surprised to respond. Then his arms were around her and he was kissing her hungrily. He caught her lower lip between his teeth, and for a third time Kagome found herself pressed against the chill metal of the examining table. His hands moved down her hips and over her thighs. When they reached the bandages halfway down his eyes flew open and he pulled away.

Kagome sat up, somewhat dazed (A/N .…), and put a hand to her lips. _What on—he does _that_ and expects me to just let him run off, does he?_ she thought, glaring at the door through which her amorous hanyou had made his hasty retreat.

_I'll just have to go find him._ She slid around and stood up. Her left leg shook treacherously and then buckled—it had received the brunt of Koga's attack. She caught herself on the table and so did not fall._ All right, one step at a time._ Kagome reached out and grasped the corner of the counter, carefully walked along it until she reached the doorframe. Pausing to be sure she could stand without its support she said aloud to no one in particular, "What the hell _was_ that?"

'' '' '' '' ''

"What the _hell_ was that?" Inu-Yasha exploded. "You idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!" he raged against himself.

Just then, Shippo came around the corner. Seeing the hanyou shouting, pacing, and gesturing furiously, he decided it would be safer to turn around and make a headlong dash for K's office.

Inu-Yasha, of course, noticed none of this. With a frustrated sigh he sat down and put his head in his hands. _Nice going, Yasha. You screwed up royally this time. She kisses you, fine, good, great. But you couldn't keep it under control, could you?_ The small part of his mind that remained rebelliously logical despite his efforts to change it pointed out that a) it wasn't such a big deal as he was making it, b) it wasn't really his fault demons had much higher levels of testosterone than humans, and 3) Kagome was probably more angry at him for running off than for being overly amorous.

But Inu-Yasha didn't give himself time to listen to his logical side, or to wonder where it had come up with A, B, and 3. He continued to berate himself, _Idiot, idiot, idiot, _until he was repeating the word without really thinking about it. _Idiot, idiot, idiot…idiot, idiot, idiot…idiot, idiot, id—_

"_There_ you are," Kagome said, half crouching, half falling to sit next to him.

Inu-Yasha turned a rather stunning shade of scarlet. "Kagome! You should be…uh…resting! Yeah! And I should be…uh—"

"Hold it," she said, catching him before he could stand. "We need to talk. And besides"—here she made a face—"I don't think I can get up without your help."

So a very nervous Inu-Yasha pulled Kagome to her feet and helped her back to the infirmary. He made sure she was seated on the table again and turned to go.

"_No,_ Inu-Yasha," Kagome said, catching him again. "Why are you running away?"

He looked at her in disbelief. "Because I kissed you!"

"Actually, _I_ kissed _you,_" she pointed out. "What are you so afraid of? I'm not made of glass, Inu-Yasha." She grinned slyly. "I can take a little rough handling."

"But it was too rough!"

"Well, maybe. It _was_ our first real kiss—"

"And you're injured!" He seemed bent on incriminating himself.

Kagome laughed. "Yes, Inu-Yasha, I am injured. But that doesn't change what I feel." She pulled his wrists so he was leaning with his hands on either side of her hips, standing between her knees. "You want to try again?"

He kissed her slowly. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"How was that?"

Kagome laughed, wrinkling her nose at him. "Much better."

'' '' '' '' ''

**Myriadragon: **And all is right in the world…

**Ariel: **[flies up to author, carrying several pieces of paper, and whispers in her ear]

**Myriadragon: **_WHAT?!?!?!_ You can't be serious… [looks over papers]

**Ariel: **[seriously] I'm afraid so…the Tech Sprites found them while they were cleaning, and Puck really likes them, so he's demanding that you—

**Myriadragon: **No! Don't say it! And things were going so well, too…All right, folks, I have bad news.

**Readers: **Uh-oh…

**Myriadragon: **Apparently the Sundry Tech Sprites have found an outline for six more chapters (at the very least) describing how Naraku is defeated, and Puck has decided that he really wants to put his fae mind to them, so we cannot leave you on this happy note. And…[shuffles through papers]…oh dear, things are going to get pretty bad here for a while. [sighs] Damn faerie…oh well folks, hold on to your hats, because my muses are rarin' to go…

Well, I may give you a few days to savor this while I work out the glitches with my manic muses, and then I would advise you to prepare yourselves for some angst.

**_R_**emember, **_E_**lephants **_V_**ery **_I_**ntelligently **_E_**xamine **_W_**indows!

--Myriadragon


	16. DON'T KILL ME!

Myriadragon: [to assembled fae] Is the barrier in place? Good...  
  
Right off the bat I have to say, "Don't Kill Me!" and that's never a good sign.  
  
OK peeps, here's the lowdown. Bad news first.  
  
I have horrible writers block! Absolutely horrible! And thus, DOD is on haitus. I am also sick, and in the middle of performances for Cymbeline (I didn't get any cues on Sat! go me! But there's still tomorrow's performance...), and in a week my family is going to Seattle. So DOD is not my top priority.  
  
BEFORE YOU ALL BRING OUT THE PITCHFORKS AND BOILING OIL, let me tell you the good news. I have not given up on DOD! I WILL finish it! And if you think about it, we're at a good stopping point right now, so it's not like I left you on a cliffy or anything. I am going to try my very best to keep writing, and once I have all the chappies finished I will begin posting again. And I promise to have it done by the end of the year, if not sooner (almost definitely sooner).  
  
I swore up and down to myself that I wouldn't do this, and here I am doing it. [sigh]. I will probably start my next project before finishing DOD. It's called Ten Thousand Shades of Yellow (maybe. I might do something else entirely...), and I think it will be good. So look for that if you don't hate me. ALSO, a list of fics I recommend so you won't be bored without me =D:  
  
(All are Inu-Yasha, and predominately InuKag unless otherwise noted)  
  
Alter Ego (Incomplete) Breaking the Rules Breaking the Habit Hell's Angel (Incomplete) It Takes Two To Do The Tango Mates (Incomplete?) Missing in Action (Incomplete) On a Leash (Incomplete) Prisoner Of The Heart (Incomplete)(MirSan) The Sea God (Incomplete) Soul Therapy Time For A Change To Play(MirSan)  
  
And my BFF (obsessivekawaiigurl) will be posting her fic Choices, Choices SOON or she will die by my hand. And check out our joint account (twin sune- ku) where we will be posting our fic CymbeJii-San, which contains the cast of Inu-Yasha performing an obscure Shakespearian play in which Souta kills Naraku!!  
  
Don't kill me! 


	17. Things Fall Apart

**Disclaimer: **Trust me, Takahashi updates waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay faster than I do

**Myriadragon: **Um...hi?

**Readers: **[throw cyberfruit]

**Myriadragon: **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry! [bows down on ground] Please don't kill me! It's only been a month or so...ack! [dodges pineapple] Iza-Kahuza, people, if I die you never find out what happens!

**Readers: **[grumble, then reluctantly drop produce]

**Myriadragon: **Thank you. I AM very very very very very veyrvery very vyer vyer vyer very vyer very vyer vrye veyrvyer sorry...heh. BUT I have been doing a lot since I last posted—posted the prologue of _Ten Thousand Shades of Yellow, _finished _Cymbeline_, went to Seattle and Victoria, rode the Empire Builder, went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, went to Irish Fest, went to a Brewers game (we lost. Who saw that coming? We're only the worst time in the history of baseball...[sigh]), saw _Cymbeline_ at APT, posted a _Cymbeline_ fic, got spacers, held a garage sale, registered for school, lost the spacers and gained braces (ow), started 10th grade, drove around half of Dane County looking for a football game that I MISSED...

**Readers: **[wave cyberfruit threateningly]

**Myriadragon: **heh, sorry. I think I know why this chappie took so long—in the original plot outline it was chappie 13! I have added in three other chapters but apparently that doesn't change the curse...oh and here are the review responses (including those from my earlier posting of this chappie).

'' '' '' '' ''

**lady lilacks:** Ah yes, the wonders of technology...we've all been there (although most of my problems come from a certain SOMEONE [glares at mother] deleting half of my stories 'accidentally'...). And yes, Wisconsin isn't the only place with crazy weather. But Minnesota is similar (trust me, I just took a train through both of them and the terrain is almost identical). Yeah, the romance is too early. I go back and read some of the earlier chappies and cringe...but in my other story they hate each other for all of Part I and then STILL don't get it together until the end of Part II, so maybe we can say it all balances out? And I guess this really doesn't count as hurrying...

TO YOUR OTHER REVIEW: Wow. Just...wow. You're very hyper, ya know that (then again so am I [sweatdrops])? I can't believe no one else has recommended your story—I really like it! And thank you for putting me in it! And thank you, I did have fun performing and in Seattle. I like it when people like me...(pretend there's a happy emoticon here. ff.n keeps deleting mine)

**Obsessivekawaiigurl: **yes, manga up the wazoo. The pool ball seemed to strange so I replaced it. And yeah, Kirara probably would object to lemons on her back but seeing as how I DO NOT WRITE LEMONS I think she doesn't mind [tries very hard to resist the urge to strangle thy fair person]. Dudette, I always ignore your insanity. And you just gave me 18 books yesterday...yeah, concrete shoeboxes. You got a problem with that? Higho to you too.

TO YOUR OTHER REVIEW: let's just say you've been wearing off on me. And I'm slowly getting into the world of fluff...it's hard to fluff without being pervy. And a pause can be pregnant—look, when you're pregnant you're expecting a baby, right? SO, when a pause is pregnant it means that the people are expecting something to happen. Yes, A B 3—Where did you go to school?

TO YOUR REVIEW ON THE CYMBELINE FIC: I am not going to dignify that with a response.

**Kokuei: **I'm glad you like my muses (although I'm not sure I should tell them that, they're egotistical enough as it is). And you're welcome for reviewing your story—hey, it's only fair, right? I mean you review almost every chapter...I guess I didn't really update soon did I...

**Jojodacrow: **Yay, you liked it! Although you probably hate me now...and trust me, you SHOULD be scared of where the sprites will take us. Puck's got this glint in his eye right now that I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaally don't like...

**Animemistress419:** Glad you liked the romance...and sorry I made you wait so long for this chappie.

**Inuchick06: **Thank you so much for liking it, and for wishing me good luck with this beast! I think I'm gonna need it [glares at Puck and Ariel]...

**PinkTigerLilly: **Well, not sure if you're here yet but anyway, I'm glad you liked it! And you're welcome for reviewing your fic. Which one was it again? It's been so long I can't remember...[sweatdrops])

**Tievel Turiel: **Yes, evil plots. And I KNOW faeries are mischievous...but, see, Ariel causes his mischief by wanting the opposite of what Puck wants. Then they start throwing Altoids at each other and I get caught in the crossfire...Yay, we made it through _Cymbeline_ without anyone dying! And I totally agree with you...there is no way in Hells Sessho-maru would serve Inu-kun. I see your muses are as troublesome as mine...

TO YOUR REVIEW ON THE CYMBELINE FIC: Um...more of what kind of fics? Cymbeline ones? And as to Lear Boy...[heads for the hills, screaming in terror]. Yup. Doomed indeed...

**Myinuyasha04: **Done. You no kill me, I no kill you. [grins]. You're apologizing for a later review? After how late this chappie is? Yeah, maiming Koga sounds good...you can even take a few limbs if you wanna. I never really thought about it that way, but I suppose Inu-kun IS like Miroku—but hey, everybody has hormones (it's just how much that's important...muahaha...)

**Tobias: **Um...sorry...and actually when I posted that not it had only been two weeks, not two months. Of course it's been two months now...hey are you a guy? I mean, Tobias IS a guy's name...I'm just curious because that would make you my only male reviewer (I think). Actually, I think it's really cool if you're a guy because it means I can write for more people than just high school girls!

**InuyashanKagomeForever: **erm...glad you liked it...you're very dramatical, ya know that? Then again, so am I...and dramatical isn't even a word...You're welcome, although I'm not quite sure for what exactly...

TO YOUR OTHER REVIEW: Thank you so much! I tried really hard to make him more realistic...in most fics he's groping people left, right, and center even though he doesn't in the manga. [sighs] Miroku...sorry, I am currently obsessed with him. I'm used to him in the manga, and then I saw the anime episode where they see Midoriko and he explains the Four Souls in that deep voice of his...[sighs]

Bluecat/aoneko: assuming you're the same person...Sarah...yeah about the whole updating soon thing...and it's an AU fic, so I just decided to set it in Wisconsin. How's _The Story We Have Not Named (Yet)_ coming?

TO YOUR REVIEW ON THE CYMBELINE FIC: Yes that scene is rather hellish. But I don't think goofy fluff was quite Shakie's style...ah well, maybe he could learn from me [grin]?

'' '' '' '' ''

**Myriadragon: **a few last things before I get started. NO ONE has reviewed my other story besides my BFF and Sarah and Sarah's the only one who counts since Oka-chan is required by law to review. I suppose you're all mad at me...but I AM updating now and I would really like even just a LITTLE feedback on that one...it's called _Ten Thousand Shades of Yellow_ if you want to check it out. And the _Cymbeline _fic I did you might want to check out because you don't need to know the play to read it...It's just some fluffy romantic nonsense you might enjoy reading.

**This chapter is dedicated to lady lilacks. I think she knows why.**

On with the insanity!

**Double O Demon:**  
_Chapter 16: Things fall apart_

__

Kagome walked into the briefing room the next morning, yawned, and blinked.

"Ah, good, ye be up. Come and sit with us," said K.

"Why are you all up so early?" asked Kagome, sitting and accepting a mug of tea from her. Kaede also had tea, while Miroku and Inu-Yasha nursed their usual coffee and Sango sipped her customary orange juice.

"P—p—plans," Miroku yawned. "For defeating Naraku."

"At 6AM?"

"No time like the present, apparently." Inu-Yasha shot a glare at K that would probably have killed her if Kagome hadn't distracted him with a good morning kiss.

"Mm...you really aren't a morning person, are you?" she asked, grinning.

"Morning people deserve to rot in Hell," he replied, sending K another death glare.

Kagome laughed. "All right, Mr. Grumpy, go back to your caffeine. I'll go plan with the other hellrot-deserving morning people."

"Are we sure rescuing her was a good idea?" he grumbled in response.

"Yes, Inu-kun, we are," Sango said with a laugh.

"Besides," Miroku said slyly, "With her here you can—"

"Finish that sentence and _die_, monk."

K cleared her throat impatiently. "Amusing as this be, we have more pressing business."

"So tell us what you've got," Sango said in her back-to-work voice.

"Not much," K admitted. "Naraku is still operating out of the warehouse dock in Door County—why, I'm not entirely sure."

"He still wants Kagome," Miroku interrupted, "and he knows we'll come after him. Why bother going after her when she'll come to him?"

"Maybe she shouldn't come with us," Inu-Yasha said seriously.

"But we need her powers to defeat him!" Sango objected.

"It's too dangerous! If he gets his hands on her again—"

"You all do realize that I'm sitting right here?" Kagome asked peevishly. "Can we at least _pretend_ I have a say in the matter?"

"Sorry, Kame," Sango said. "K, why don't you finish and _then_ we'll discuss it."

Kaede gave her a grateful look and continued. "So we know where he is—and why," she added with a nod at Miroku. "Even though he expects it, I think the best plan is to go after him there. All four of ye will go—and no amount of protesting from Agent Enkou will change my mind," she said as Inu-Yasha opened his mouth. HE sent her yet another death glare but made no comment. "We need Kagome's powers, as well as Inu0Yasha's strength, Miroku's skill, and Sango's intelligence. Ye three are responsible for getting Kagome to Naraku so she can kill him."

Kagome chocked on her tea. "_K—kill?_ I have to _kill_ him?"

Inu-Yasha blinked. "Yeah, Kagome, you have to kill him. That's how it works with demons—you kill them or they kill you."

"But..." Kagome said weakly. "Why do _I_ have to...?"

"It is because of Kikyo that Naraku exists," K said quietly. "Is it not logical that she who began him is the only one who can end him?"

Kagome put her head in her hands. "I don't know if I can," she whispered.

"Oh for God's sake, Kagome," Inu-Yasha snapped. "It's not that hard."

"Well _excuse_ me!" she exploded. "I'm not a demon, Inu-Yasha, I'm a human. I can't just kill without thinking!"

"And I can?"

"Apparently!"

"If we don't kill Naraku he'll kill hundreds of innocent people!"

"I didn't say I wouldn't do it, I just said it would be hard!"

"Which it shouldn't be!"

"I—b—Gah! You're impossible!" With that Kagome stormed off, throwing her hands in the air in disgust.

There was a pause filled only by Inu-Yasha's growls. Then Sango said, "Go after her."

"Why? Either she'll do it or she won't. Nothing I say will change that."

"Men are hopeless!" Sango said, exiting in a manner similar to Kagome's.

"I'd have to say I agree," K said with a sigh. "Well, I'll leave ye two to your hopelessness and go talk to Shippo about your gear. Ye leave in two hours. Oh and Inu-Yasha," she said, pausing in the doorway, "talk to Kagome before ye leave. The two of ye won't be able to work together if ye have this hanging over your heads."

'' '' '' '' ''

Of course, Inu-Yasha—being stubborn as a mule and twice as stupid—did _not_ talk to Kagome. He still couldn't see what it was he'd done wrong. So all in all, it was a tense group that made its way North to Door County for the second in as many days. Kagome was sitting towards the front of their nekobus (AN: hee hee) with Sango, who (out of loyalty to her fellow woman) was pointedly ignoring Miroku. The two boys sat behind then, sulking and wondering what they'd done wrong [cough]mules[cough].

"This does not bode well," Kaede said with a sigh as she watched them fly off. Beside her, Shippo nodded. "This does not bode well at all...

'' '' '' '' ''

A few hours later our heroes found themselves back on the ground by warehouse 389.

"Alright, split up," Inu-Yasha whispered. "Miroku, you're with me. We'll go north." He left without instructing the other two.

"We'll just head south then, shall we?" Kagome hissed after him as Sango stifled a laugh beside her. "The silent treatment...honestly, sometimes I wonder if he made it out of elementary school..."

"Probably not," Sango whispered with a grin. "Come on. Southward-ho!"

'' '' '' '' ''

Inu-Yasha stifled a curse as he nearly fell flat on his face. "What in the hells is _that?_" he demanded of his monkish companion.

"A shipping crate, I believe," Miroku replied sagely. "Doesn't seem to be anything else here."

"Right, let's move on," ordered Inu-Yasha. "And what kind of idiot leaves a shipping crate in the middle of a dark room like that?"

"What, you mean the kind of idiot who puts _wares_ in a _ware_house and doesn't expect to have secret agents searching for demon supervillians in the dark?" Miroku asked innocently as they crept towards the next building (402).

Inu-Yasha wheeled around. "Miroku—"

He was cut off before he could finish his irate threat. "Save it for Naraku. That's why we're here, isn't it?"

The hanyou continued to glare at him for a moment, but eventually he dropped his gaze. "Yeah," he muttered. "Come on."

'' '' '' '' ''

"Ouch!" Kagome hissed. "Sango, I wasn't all the way out!"

"Sorry..." Sango said sheepishly. "I thought you were right behind me."

"Saw something that looked suspiciously like a crate of baboon skins (AN: ¬.¬...)—and those doors are heavy!"

"Sorry..." Sango said again. "Hold up." She threw an arm out to halt Kagome. Putting a finger to her lips, she crouched down closer to the building (376).

"...your men. I'm on my way to see him now. No, not about..." Koga's voice faded away as he and his companion passed them.

"Three guesses who 'he' is," said Sango grimly.

"Naraku," Kagome agreed. "Let's follow them."

'' '' '' '' ''

"Alright, Miroku, there's two doors on this one. You take the closer one and I'll go for that one over there."

"Miroku?" Inu-Yasha looked back over his shoulder for his partner.

"Um...hi?" Miroku said sheepishly. "This isn't very comfortable, ya know," he informed his captor in a peeved tone. "Some of us have to breath every once in a while."

Sessho-maru didn't relax his grip on Miroku's neck. "If you have air enough to waste on complaining then surely you are capable of breathing as well. You and the human will come with me," he added to Inu-Yasha.

"Like hell we will," he growled. His feet shifted into a fighter's stance.

"Not wise, little brother," Sessho-maru commented with a shake of his head.

A feathered dart sprouted from Inu-Yasha's neck. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the ground.

"Not wise at all..."

'' '' '' '' ''

"...found him. We should—" Kagome's voiced stopped abruptly. Her pause was followed by a _thump_.

"Kagome, what—" Sango began to turn around only to fall to the ground as well as someone dealt a careful blow to the back of her neck.

"So sorry about that, my dears," Koga said, standing over their prone forms. "Bring the miko to Naraku."

"What about the other?" his companion asked.

"Lock her in one of the warehouses. It's the miko Naraku wants."

'' '' '' '' ''

His hands were bound behind his back. Not good. Experimentally he opened his eyes, wincing as light hit them. No blindfold, then. His mouth was dry, but as far as he could tell that was a result of the tranquilizer, and not of a gag. He cursed quietly, confirming the gag's absence.

"Really, such a foul mouth," a voice said dryly. A man with black hair and red (or is it brown? I've read both. Maybe it's one in the anime and one in the manga?) eyes stepped into the light.

"Naraku," Inu-Yasha spat.

Naraku bowed. "The one and only."

"What do you want?"

"Right to the point, I see. I want what I have always wanted. The Shikon no Tama. And with your help, it can be mine."

"Like I'd help you," Inu-Yasha growled. Behind his back, he was having little success at removing his bonds.

"Oh, but you will," Naraku said silkily. "You will if you want to save your pathetic humans."

"What?"

"The miko, my dear boy, and the other two."

"You don't really expect me to believe you have them?"

"And why not?" Naraku stepped closer. "I have you—what is a human compared to one who is part demon?"

Inu-Yasha glared at him. "Feh," he grumbled, unable to think of a better response.

Naraku chuckled. "I have the girl. I have you. I have everything I need to get the Jewel."

"What does any of this have to do with me?" Inu-Yasha demanded. "You've got Kagome—can't you just take the Jewel?"

"No. I can't. But you can."

"What?!"

"The Jewel is held within this girl—Kagome, you say—in her heart." Naraku tapped Inu-Yasha's chest with a slender finger. "It would be easy enough for me to reach into her chest and pull it out—but that would kill her before I got the Jewel, and it would disappear, and I would have to wait until I found the next incarnation of Kikyo to get the Jewel out."

"I still don't get why you need me."

(AN: get ready for a long, hard to follow explanation)

Naraku sighed dramatically. "Patience, my dear boy, patience. A demon is the only creature that can reach into a miko and remove the Jewel. But because of its demon energy, it cannot do so without killing the girl, causing the Jewel to disappear. A human cannot reach into a person at all—but if it could, it would be able to remove the Jewel without doing the vessel any harm. As a hanyou, you have the demon's power of being able to reach into her, and you have the power to do so without killing her. You are the only person who can remove that Jewel from the girl's chest. Do you understand me?"

Inu-Yasha was silent a minute, trying to figure out exactly what Naraku had said. "So you need me to remove the Jewel."

"Precisely."

"Well, I'm not going to," Inu-Yasha said bluntly.

"Ah, but you are," Naraku said coolly. "If you do not, I will kill the other two."

"They would rather die then let you have the Shikon no Tama."

"Maybe. But what about the miko? Would she be willing to give her life for such a cause?"

Inu-Yasha snorted. "You would never kill Kagome. If she dies, you lose the Jewel."

"But if you refuse to remove it, I have lost the Jewel already. And if I cannot get the Shikon no Tama from her, what use is the girl to me?"

"Kagome would willingly give her life to stop you..." Inu-Yasha said hesitantly.

"...but you would not," Naraku finished with a smirk. "She is precious to you, is she not?"

Inu-Yasha looked away and didn't reply.

Naraku's smirk grew wider. "I rest my case. You would do anything to save her. And in this case, _anything_ means removing the Jewel and giving it to me."

Again Inu-Yasha said nothing.

The grin left Naraku's face. "I grow impatient with your silence!" he growled. "Will you do it, or will I be forced to kill all four of you?"

There was a pause as they glared at each other. Inu-Yasha was the first to lower his gaze. "Yes," he said quietly.

"What was that? I didn't hear you." Naraku had his smile back now.

"Yes, damnit, yes! I'll get you the stupid Jewel!"

"Excellent."

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

**Myriadragon: **I told you this wasn't going anywhere good.

And now I have a confession/plea to make. You see, I probably would have left this for another month or so without writing anything at all, if it weren't for one tiny thing: My BFF, aka **obsessivekawaiigurl**, has been writing an Inuyasha/Fruits Basket crossover, and she's driving me insane because she's thinking about changing the pairing to something other than InuKag. She's having people vote on what pairs they want, and if we InuKag fans don't get our butts in gear before she next posts it'll either be KyoKag or HaruKag. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! SO I need you all to do me a big favor and go read it PRONTO (it's called _Youkai, Jubaku, and Miko_) and review with a vote for InuKag or else I will be forced to kill her and then I'll be arrested and I don't think they have internet connection in jail so I'll never post again.

Of course now she's going to kill me for asking you all to do this but hey maybe this way she'll get more reviews? [hides from BFF, who is armed with a longbow]

Anyway, Remember the Elephants etc. etc. I'm too lazy to type the rest out.


	18. Traitor

**Myriadragon: **meh, no inspiration, but I'm gonna try. If it really stinks, let me know and I'll re-write it. Practically no one has reviewed...either you all hate me or school's getting to you. Either way, I'm slightly miffed. Just so ya'll know, I'll probably update once a week from now on.By my calculations, considering the number of chappies left, that means DOD'll be over by the middle of October. So I can start 10Y just in time for Samhain (Halloween)! sighs Speaking of which, almost no one's reviewed that either...you all hate me sobs theatrically

**Puck: **stop being such a drama queen

**Myriadragon: **(sticks out tongue) nyah, I'm supposed to be a drama queen. It entertains Rebecca (my theater teacher). Besides, you're just mad 'cause Mom's been confusing your species.

**Ariel: **he's ignoring you

**Myriadragon: **(sigh) damn fae..anywho, review responses to the few people who don't hate me:

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

**Tievel Turiel: **O.O dearie, you need to spend less time with that brother of yours. Although it _is_ an interesting idea...muahaha...I just may do it! And as for what Inu-kun will do...well, we'll just have to see, won't we.

Kokuei: glad you liked the fight...I realized they hadn't been fighting nearly enough so I just sort of stuck it in...although it will be useful later on...maybe...ya, sorry about the long wait. If you read the author's note, I'll be posting every Saturday or so. And yes, I hope Inu kicks his ass too

**Angel-yura: **um...I know he has black hair...isn't that what I said? (frantically searches for Ch. 16) Found it! Yeah, I said he has black hair...it was the eyes I wasn't sure about

You know who: and I wish I didn't know you...NO. The monk must NOT finish the sentence. (makes strangling motion) Damn you, Naraku doesn't want Kagome THAT way!!! She is a turtle if I say she is a turtle. And I wasn't even thinking of Totoro when I wrote that...hee hee, nekobus...blinks did Naraku bow? (still has Ch. 16 up from response to Angel-yura) oh. He did. Well, it was a sarcastic bow...and yeesh, you had Kag throw Kyo through a screen door. I think I can have Naraku bow. INUKAGINUKAGINUKAGINUKAG!!!!!!! And keep that thing away from me!!! Besides, you don't have a string for it yet, nyah!!

Siyuri: ya, someone already told me about Ayame. But hey, thanks for the thought!

Siyuri (again...): muahaha, but cliffies are so fun! And I'll be updating every Saturday or so...and I know they talk about Naraku as a hanyou but since as far as I can tell Takahashi-san hasn't said anything about it. I'm gonna call him a full demon. All the demons that took him over want to get rid of Onigumo anyway...plus I wouldn't have a plot if he was full demon (sweatdrops)

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

**Myriadragon: **um...I have mental problems...so Koga gets called a cat a lot in this. It's part of his intentional OOCness...INTENTIONAL, ya hear...but I thought you might like a warning...

On with the insanity...

**Double O Demon**  
_Chapter 17: Traitor_

Inu-Yasha's ears and eyes flicked left and right as they led him down the rows of warehouses. _There has to be a way out of this,_ he thought desperately. _There just has to._

But nothing made itself apparent on his short trek from warehouse 354 (the warehouse in which he'd woken up and talked to Naraku). He suppressed a growl as he was roughly pushed through the dimly lit doorway of warehouse 348 into its even dimmer interior. "There's no need to be rude!" he yelled back through the closed door. "Bloody demons..."

"And are you not a demon yourself, albeit a half-breed?" someone asked silkily.

Inu-Yasha growled as he recognized Koga's voice. "Where's Kagome, wolf?" In the dim light he could make out little of what was in the warehouse before him.

Koga '_tsk'_ed. "So impatient"

Inu-Yasha heard a slight movement and the lights came on. He winced as he saw Kagome lying on the floor, old and new bruises alike stark in the fluorescent lights. Her eyes were closed, and she would have looked peaceful, if it were not for the unnatural way her limbs were splayed. "Get away from her," he spat.

Koga didn't move from his position by Kagome's side. "I don't believe I will. Do not forget, _hanyou_, that it is I who hold the power here, not you."

"Without me your master doesn't get what he wants," Inu-Yasha growled. "I'd say that's a pretty big bargaining chip. Now _get away from her._"

Koga made a big deal of getting carefully up and sauntering away from her, as though it had been his idea all along. The almost catlike behavior didn't suit him.

"Good. Now untie me."

"You are in no position to be making demands, Inu-Yasha. I see no reason why I shouldn't leave you bound."

"I can't very well get the Jewel with my hands behind my back, now can I?" Inu-Yasha replied scathingly. "Idiot."

The look on Koga's face was priceless; had he not been so worried for Kagome Inu-Yasha would have smirked. "As you say," he spat, walking over to the bound hanyou. He cut through the ropes in one easy movement of his claw that 'accidentally' made quite a gash in the back of his hand.

"Much better," Inu-Yasha said, rubbing his wrists. His injured hand he ignored. "Now leave."

"That is one thing I cannot do," Koga said, trying to sound disappointed but unable to hide his pleasure at refusing Inu-Yasha's demand. "How am I to know you won't escape?"

Inu-Yasha glared. "The rest of your dirty wolves are outside; I couldn't escape if I tried. Now get out or I won't do it." His tone was dangerous.

"Very well," Koga forced through gritted teeth. He left with his nose in the air, the very picture of an insulted cat.

Inu-Yasha knelt by Kagome's side, carefully pulling her limbs into a more natural position. "Kagome" he sighed. "What am I going to do?"

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

"Uo-oi" Sango moaned, putting a hand to her head and trying to sit up.

"What's this I hear?" Miroku asked in mock astonishment. "Indistinct noises of pain? Methinks Sango be awake!"

"Oh, shut up," Sango growled. "And let me up."

Miroku didn't remove his hand from her shoulder. "They hit you pretty hard. It would be better for you to lie down."

Sango glared at him, then winced. Glaring hurt. "Monk, let me up," she demanded.

"Alright" he moved his hand from her shoulder to her arms to help her sit up. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No" she trailed off, searching for anything that hurt. Apart from a wicked headache, she was fine. "No."

"Good. Can you call Kirara?"

"Um...I think so." Sango looked around the room they were locked in. It looked like it had once been a small office separated from the main room of the warehouse. There was a grimy window, much too small for an adult to fit through, on one wall, and a door (presumably locked) on the opposite wall. A crackled light bulb hung from the ceiling, and there was a rickety old desk in one corner. "No guards?"

"Outside?" Miroku said, raising his eyebrows to indicate that it should have been obvious.

"Right" Sango said sheepishly. "Wolf demons, I suppose?"

"Yup."

"Damn. If I call her, they'll hear it. Ah well, what else can we do?" She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly. Miroku could tell she was trying to keep it quiet, but what good would that do when the guards had hearing enhanced by their being canine demons?

There was a long pause as they waited for the neko to appear. "Are you sure she got away?" Miroku asked, breaking the silence.

"I—I don't know" Sango said, getting carefully to her feet and trying to see through the dirty window. "I was attacked from behind...but Kirara gave no warning, and I'm sure she would have..."

"But she'll have heard you no matter where she is, right?" Miroku asked, coming to stand behind her. "And Kirara isn't exactly easy to contain."

Sango smiled slightly, remembering the many times Kirara had escaped her when it was time to visit the V-E-T. "Yeah..."

"So we'll just wait for her to find us," he said reassuringly, draping an arm over her shoulders. "She's a resourceful little fiend, she'll figure something out. She is a _cat_, after all."

"Yeah." Sango leaned her head against Miroku's shoulder and sighed. Damn it, she was worried about the little fiendling! "Hey," she said suddenly, pulling away. "Do you think we could break down this door?"

"Nope," Miroku replied. He walked across the room and rapped on the door. There was an answering thud and a "Keep it down!" from the demon guards outside. "Solid steel."

"So much for plan B," Sango sighed. "I suppose this means we get to sit here and bite our nails until Kirara comes."

"Well, we could always—"

"NO!" Sango said before he could finish. "Absolutely not."

"You're no fun," he said. "I am now going to sulk."

Sango grinned. "You do that."

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

Inu-Yasha still didn't know what to do. He'd told Naraku he would remove the Jewel so he could get to see Kagome, but he had no intention of actually doing it. And with Kagome in her present state, there was little he could do to get them both out.

"Damn it," he growled to no one in particular. She could destroy Naraku in his present state with or without the Jewel, he knew that—her power was independent from that of the Shikon no Tama. But if Naraku had the power of the Jewel added to his own...so to remove the Jewel would mean her death. But if he didn't remove it, she would die anyway

Remove the Jewel or not, either way they lost.

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

Kirara's ears perked up from where she was hiding in the shadow of warehouse 359 (she'd escaped her captors about 3 seconds after waking up). Her mistress was finally calling her. Good. The little cat made to follow the sound of Sango's whistle, but stopped just in time as a group of wasp demons came into sight, blocking her path. No. Bad. There was no way around them; she'd just have to wait until they moved.

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

Miroku lasted all of five minutes. Blast it all, sulking was _hard!_ And he was bored. Very BORED. And locked in the room with the woman who just happened to be the most gorgeous creature he'd ever met, as well as the love of his life. The wheels in his head started turning...

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

Kirara finally reached the window of the room where her mistress was being held. Crouching low, she pushed off with her back feet and landed slightly unsteadily on the sill (the window is about five feet off the ground). There was an awkward moment where she wasn't sure if she'd fall or not, but she managed to get her balance back. She automatically glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed her moment of less-than-gracefulness. Fortunately, there was no one in sight. Good. Her reputation as a cat was safe. (A/N: I just love writing Kirara's POV grin)

Remembering her mission, Kirara peered through the grimy glass. Bad! Her mistress was under attack! Wait. Was she? The neko narrowed her eyes. Her mistress did seem to be fending off unwanted attention, but she didn't smell afraidâ€and she was _laughing_. Ah. Not under attack, then. Just protesting an overzealous mate's actions. Which was all very nice and wonderful and fluffy in the proper time and place, but both were currently being held captive. Did humans remember anything? With a dignified cat-sniff, Kirara mewled softly. Hopefully _that_ would get her attention and bring her back to the matter at hand.

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

"Miroku, get off!" Sango laughed. "This is hardly the—" She was cut off as he kissed her. She gave in and put her arms around his neck, letting him push her back against the wall of their cell.

"Mew!"

"What was that?" Sango asked, pushing Miroku away. "Kirara?"

"Mew mow vow mrii _mrow_," Kirara replied disapprovingly.

Sango blushed. "Yes, well, I _told _him that, but—"

"Mow mew rrrrr."

Her blushed deepened. "What did she say?" Miroku asked curiously.

"It's not important," Sango said quickly. "Let's just concentrate on getting out."

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

**Myriadragon: **grin well I did get inspired eventually. I absolutely LOVE writing things from cat POV. Speaking of which, Beware the TechnoCyberKitties of Doom!!!!

Erâ€Last night I saw my cat sitting in the dark in front of the computer screen and I swear he had just logged off a user account...AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

ff.n is being evil and deleting my dividers so we have new ones now!!

Oh, very important: **_I need the eye colors of every character in Inu-Yasha besides Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Koga (and Kirara) for my next story._ **Please tell me if you're giving me the colors from the anime or the manga, as I try to use the colors from the manga (since it's the original version). The characters listed above are the only ones whose eye colors I know for sure! PLEASE tell me, because I really need to know!

REMEMBER THE ELEPHANTS!!!!!


	19. The End

**Myriadragon: **I am so sorry about this, but all my inspiration for this has flown away with the dodo bird. So I regret to inform you that this will be the last chapter of Double O Demon. I know I said there'd be about five more, but I have to end it. I just can't have this hanging over me anymore.

Plus my tarot cards have been yelling at me to finish this and move on to something else…

**_DISCLAIMER: _**I've been forgetting this…anywho, me no own, you no sue, let's make Inu wear new shoes! Yay I can rhyme…

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hahaha: I think I'm gonna delete your reviews if you don't start logging in…am I not worth the effort it takes to click on 'login'? On second thought, don't answer that…Like I'm gonna tell you what Miroku was thinking. Even _I_ don't know…you and your perviness probably have a better idea than me –grin-. Kirara said –ahem- "You shouldn't be doing that" and then either "You were enjoying yourself" or "You have an insatiable sexual desire for that man". Take your pick –evil evil grin-.

**Kokuei: **hee hee, glad you liked it! Me tries! Good ol' Miro-kun…

**Tievel Turiel: **Evil Horde of Spork-Weilding Plushies of Doom (not TM). Right. Excuse me while I place a call to Jullie's mental institution…Tell Stevie if he's going to translate Vulcan blessings into Spanish he could at least get the translation right… "I live much and to prosper" is NOT CORRECT. What he wants is "¡Viva! y prospera" (but whether or not you want to tell him that is up to you –grin-) God I had so much fun writing Kirara…And yeah, sulking is impossible. Evil Naraku! Very Evil! But not as evil as the Cyberkitties of Doom (also not TM)…anyway, sorry, can't take Lear boy, got me own bundle o' trouble to worry about.

**Inuchanluver1:** Thank you for they eye colors, no one else responded to my plea! Thank you for liking my story…And here is more, though unfortunately this is all you're getting. Time to be done with this beast.

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**Double O Demon**

_Chapter 18: The End_

"Right. Getting out. Any ideas?"

Sango rolled her eyes. "With Kirara here, yes. Take off your shoes."

Miroku gave her a funny look. "Why?"

"I need to throw them through that window," Sango said coolly.

"Um…right." With another look suggesting she was crazy, Miroku sat and unlaced his boots.

"Thank you," she said as he handed them to her. "Kirara, get down." The neko mewled in response and disappeared. Sango began to twirl the boots by the laces until she hand them going in a circular blur around her right hand. "Miroku, get back," she instructed, shielding her face with her free arm and letting his footwear fly at the window.

There was an impressive '_kchchchch_' as the glass broke, followed by a set of thumps as shoes and shards hit the ground. The lack of a yowl told Sango the Kirara had avoided the glass as it fell. "Alright girl, come in." Seconds later Kirara vaulted through the hole made with Miroku's boots to land in Sango's arms.

"So. Now that we've lost my shoes, gotten that furbag, and alerted the guards that we're up to something, what do we do?" Miroku asked testily.

Sango rolled her eyes and Kirara give him a superior stare. "It's just _shoes_, monk. It's not like the world is going to end because your socks are getting dirty. As for what we do, Kirara breaks down the door."

"And you think the guards won't notice that?!"

"No, I know they will. We don't really have a choice."

Miroku sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. To think that just moments ago he'd been kissing this woman… "Fine. But if we get killed I'm blaming you."

"You do that."

--------

"Well, hanyou?"

Inuyasha cursed as Naraku's silky tones penetrated the stuffy air of the warehouse. "Well _what?_"

"Have you gotten the jewel for me?"

"Um…" he stalled, trying to buy time. _I have to decide now, before it's too late…_

Naraku's face darkened. "You have not. Need I remind you the fate that will befall your precious woman if you refused to remove it?" He reached into his pocket, pulled out a marble and closed his fist around it. When he opened his hand all that remained was glittering glass dust.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. _Of course! Why didn't I think of it earlier?_ His excitement faded. _But it will take far more than one demons' fist to break it…_

"I grow tired of your stalling, hanyou!" Naraku spat. "Remove the Jewel, _now_, or I will kill you both!"

Inuyasha bit his lip. _I just have to hope she wakes up…_Carefully he pressed his hand to her chest. _Here goes nothing…_

--------

Everything was dark…so dark…

Kagome groaned. Why was it always dark? Couldn't her subconscious be somewhere nice, like a beach in Cancun or her grandmother's kitchen?

A burst of red energy shot through her mind.

_Scratch that last bit. I'll take darkness over pain any day._

Kagome! 

_Inuyasha?!?!_

His next thought was accompanied by another burst of pain. **Kagome, you have to wake up!**

It's not that easy! She retorted. And stop hurting me! 

**I can't,** he said quietly, and there was a rather awkward pause. **Listen, Kagome, you have to wake up! Naraku's making me take the Jewel out of you, and if he gets it no one will be able to stop him!**

_What do you mean, you're taking the Jewel out of me?!_

**I mean I have my hand in your chest and my fingers wrapped around the blasted thing! Kagome, we don't have _time_ for this! As soon as you wake up, hit me with a blast of your power.**

_But—_Kagome gasped as she felt her heart torn from her body.

The Jewel was out.

--------

Inuyasha stared at the Jewel in his palm. His hand was clean, cleaner then it had ever been, but his brain superimposed rivers of dark blood over his lightly tanned skin. He had heard her cry out when he removed the Jewel, not just in her mind but out loud as well.

"Are you awake?" he whispered.

No response.

"Inuyasha!" Naraku said sharply. "Bring me the Jewel!"

He turned, rising from his crouch as slowly as he could. _Come on, Kagome, wake up! Wake up, damnit! There isn't any more time!_

Naraku smirked. "Come, hanyou, no need to be so slow. What can a few seconds do?"

"Plenty."

Startled, both Inuyasha and Naraku turned to Kagome. She sat up and rubbed her head. "What a headache…and now that I have your attention—"

Whatever she had to say was cut off in the rush of pink miko light coming from her body straight towards Inuyasha. He sidestepped, leaving Naraku in the face of the blast, tossing the Jewel between the demon and Kagome.

Naraku panicked, raising a shield of dark energy.

Inuyasha smiled grimly. _Bad move._

Plum and magenta light met in a swirl of color that quickly grew to blinding white energy.

And caught in the middle of it was the Jewel.

The energy pulsed, swirled towards the ceiling in a typhoon, twisting the Jewel tightly in its fibers.

And then the Jewel was gone. No sound, no cracking, no breaking, no nothing. Just gone.

_And now for Naraku…_Inuyasha seized Kagome's hand and pushed it against the writhing white maelstrom.

_Come on…_He pushed against the thing with all of his energy, and felt Kagome's energy flare beside him. Naraku, distracted by the Jewel's disappearance, had no time to react. The inferno engulfed him, and when it died, there was nothing left to suggest that he had ever been there.

--------

Kirara burst through the door, Sango and Miroku hot on her heels and ready for a fight.

…

"Weren't there guards here a minute ago?" Miroku asked.

"I thought there were too…" Sango replied, looking around her in confusion. "Kirara?"

"Rrrrr mow vreow," the fire cat replied, shaking her head towards the door.

"She says they left that way…"

"...So we should go that way?"

"I guess…"

"…This is weird…"

--------

Kagome collapsed against Inuyasha's chest with something between a sigh of relief and a moan of pain. "I don't think I can stand…"

He led her over to one of the shipping crates and sat her down. "Are you all right? I didn't hurt you, did I? I didn't mean to hurt you, I just—"

She groaned. "Don't talk to me. My head hurts too much to think."

"Sorry," he said quietly. Come to think of it, he was pretty sore too. The aftereffects of spending so much energy would leave them both drained for at least a week.

"Inuyasha! Kagome!"

Inuyasha looked up as he heard Sango's call. "Took you long enough," he grumbled, but not so loudly that they could hear.

"Are you all right? Where's Naraku?" Miroku demanded, coming to a halt in front of them.

"Dead," Kagome said tiredly. "And the Jewel with him."

Sango blinked. "You mean…"

"…we missed everything?" Miroku finished.

"Sounds about right, yeah," Inuyasha said offhandedly. "Can we go home now?"

--------

**Myriadragon: **And so it is OVER. DONE. FIN.

You have no idea how good it feels to be done with this thing. And now my Tarot cards can yell at me about something else for a change.

In light of the disaster this thing was, I have made a pledge: **I will not post any story unless I have a rough draft of it already written.** That way I can be sure to have some way to end it, even if it is really crappy.

The exception is 10Y, which will be my pet project—something I write on when I have no inspiration for anything else.

I think my next project will be a short piece called 'Kittens'. It's going to be a lot darker than DOD, and hopefully better written. It has a sequel that will come after it ('Mothering'), and a cross-over with that sequel ('Daughtering'), and then stories about the second generation, and maybe even an AU of the second generation…depending on how much inspiration I have and what you all think of it. The point is really to have a bunch of short (no more than 10 chapter) stories that I can write and post without running out of creative juices.

And as penance for my evilness, I have written a one-shot MirSan. You can all read it knowing that you will never have to wait three months for an update, because there will never be one! And it's nice and fluffy, too.

One last time, though I really don't deserve it:

REMEMBER THE ELEPHANTS!!!


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